Archived: East View Housing Management Limited - 370 The Ridge

370 The Ridge is a residential care home providing personal care for up to six people with learning disabilities. At the time of inspection, six people were living there.

370 The Ridge was built over two floors, with large bedrooms, communal areas such as a dining room and lounge and a large accessible garden that people used frequently.

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. This ensures that people who use the service can live as full a life as possible and achieve the best possible outcomes. The principles reflect the need for people with learning disabilities and/or autism to live meaningful lives that include control, choice, and independence. People using the service receive planned and co-ordinated person-centred support that is appropriate and inclusive for them.

People’s experience of using this service and what we found

The outcomes for people using the service reflected the principles and values of Registering the Right Support by promoting choice and control, independence and inclusion. People's support focused on them having as many opportunities as possible for them to gain new skills and become more independent.

People and their relatives told us they felt safe. One relative said, “My relative has never had any serious incidents and this reinforces to me how conscientious staff are in looking out for people.” Some people couldn’t tell us how they felt, however they appeared calm and happy around staff. People had robust assessments that identified areas of risk and how they could be mitigated. People received their medicines safely. Where incidents and accidents had occurred, staff had worked together to learn lessons and act to ensure this didn’t reoccur.

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.

People and their relatives told us that people were supported to see a variety of health and social care professionals to maintain their physical and emotional wellbeing. One relative explained that when their relative was unwell, “Staff worked with GPs and other professionals to improve their health. We had lots of meetings.” People’s nutritional and hydration needs were consistently met. The house had been adapted to meet people’s needs and preferences, whilst ensuring it still felt like home. Staff were supported with induction, regular training and supervision, to ensure they had the skills and knowledge to meet people’s needs.

It was clear that people felt comfortable around staff that they had built strong relationships with. People sought out staff to engage and spend time with. A relative said, “It really seems like staff are like family to people.” People were encouraged to be as independent as possible and to develop new skills. People’s privacy and dignity was always promoted by staff.

People’s lives were centred around their wishes and preferences. Support needs were regularly reviewed with them and a relative said, “Staff are very responsive, especially when people’s needs change.” People were involved in a variety of activities that were personalised to their interests and goals. People and relatives told us they had never had to complain but they knew who to speak to and were confident they would be listened to. End of life wishes, and preferences had been explored with people in the event they became suddenly unwell.

Everyone we spoke to was complimentary about the registered manager. One relative said, “They are very approachable and look at things from people's point of view.” Staff told us they felt an open, transparent and team working culture was promoted. Feedback had been sought from people, their relatives and staff to improve service provision. The registered manager valued working in partnership with others and sought regular learning opportunities to ensure they were up to date with best practice guidance.

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 31 January 2017).

Why we inspected

This was a planned inspection based on the previous rating.

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.

The home provides accommodation for people with a learning disability or mental health needs and offers a communal living area, kitchen and dining area in open plan design. There are four bedrooms on the ground floor, a wet room and shower room. Upstairs there are a further two bedrooms and another shower room. There is a small front garden with a parking area, and a large back garden.

There is a registered manager in post. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission to manage the service. Like registered providers, they are ‘registered persons’. Registered persons have legal responsibility for meeting the requirements in the Health and Social Care Act 2008 and associated Regulations about how the service is run.

There were six people living in the home at the time of the inspection. People had been supported to move into the home at very short notice, when the home they had previously been living in suffered storm damage.

Staff received regular training and were knowledgeable about their roles and responsibilities. They had the skills, knowledge and experience required to support people with their care and support needs. There were appropriate numbers of staff employed to meet people’s needs and provide a flexible service.

There were suitable recruitment procedures and required employment checks were undertaken before staff began to work at the home. Staffing levels were planned, implemented and reviewed to keep people safe at all times. Any staff shortages were responded to quickly and appropriately.

The staff understood their role in relation to the Mental Capacity Act 2005 (MCA) and how the Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS) should be put into practice. These safeguards protect the rights of people by ensuring, if there are any restrictions to their freedom and liberty, these have been authorised by the local authority as being required to protect the person from harm.

Systems, processes and standard operating procedures around medicines were reliable and appropriate to keep people safe. Monitoring the safety of these systems were robust.

Assessments were undertaken to assess any risks to the person using the service and to the staff supporting them. This included environmental risks and any risks due to the health and support needs of the person. The risk assessments we read included information about action to be taken to minimise the chance of harm occurring.

Staff knew the people they supported and provided a personalised service. Care plans were in place detailing how people wished to be supported and families were involved in making decisions about their care.

People were supported to eat and drink. Staff supported people to attend healthcare appointments and liaised with their GP and other healthcare professionals as required to meet people’s needs.

Staff told us the registered manager was accessible and approachable. The manager and provider undertook regular audits to review the quality of the service provided and made the necessary improvements to the service. People were involved in audits of the home’s environment.