18 June 2019
During a routine inspection
Heathcotes Derby is a residential care home. The service was a large home, bigger than most domestic style properties. It is registered to support up to eight young people from the age of 13 years and over. There were seven people in residence.
The service has been developed and designed in line with the principles and values that underpin Registering the Right Support and other best practice guidance. There were deliberately no identifying signs, intercom, cameras or anything else outside to indicate it was a care home. Staff were also discouraged from wearing anything that suggested they were care staff when coming and going with people. People with learning disabilities and/or autism to live meaningful lives that include control, choice, and independence. This ensures that people who use the service can live as full a life as possible and achieve the best possible outcomes.
People’s experience of using this service and what we found
The service needed to strengthen the quality monitoring systems to ensure checks and audits were completed in a timely way. The registered manager assured us these issues would be addressed with staff training and increased monitoring.
People continued to be cared for safely. Risks to people’s health, safety and welfare were assessed, managed and monitored on an ongoing basis. Staff encouraged positive risk taking and promoted people’s independence.
Staff continued to support people to maintain good health. People were involved in meal preparation and healthy eating was promoted. People were supported with their medicines and had prompt access to healthcare support when needed. Health action plans were in place, so people’s wishes as to unplanned medical treatment were identified. Procedures were in place for people to express their wishes in relation to end of life care.
Effective systems and policies were in place to ensure staff were appropriately recruited. Staff continued to be trained to the appropriate level to provide effective care and support. There were enough staff to meet people’s needs. Staff worked flexibly and had a consistent approach to promote people’s wellbeing and independence.
The service applied the principles and values consistently of Registering the Right Support and other best practice guidance. These ensure that people who use the service can live as full a life as possible and achieve the best possible outcomes that include control, choice and independence.
People were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff supported them in the least restrictive way possible and in their best interests; the policies and systems in the service supported this practice.
Staff were caring and treated people with kindness, dignity and respect. People's support focused on them having as many opportunities as possible for them to gain new skills and become more independent. Staff encouraged people to follow their interests and people were supported to access many varied activities and interests. People’s care plans and information was available in formats people could understand.
People felt staff and management were approachable, acted on concerns and their views were sought to develop the service.
For more details, please see the full report which is on the CQC website at www.cqc.org.uk
Rating at last inspection
The last rating for this service was good (published 22 February 2018).
Why we inspected
The inspection was prompted in part due to concerns received about people’s safety. A decision was made for us to inspect and examine those risks.
Follow up
We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service until we return to visit as per our re-inspection programme. If we receive any concerning information we may inspect sooner.