6 June 2023
During an inspection looking at part of the service
About the service
The Chantry is a residential care home providing accommodation and personal care to up to 16 adults with learning disabilities. At the time of our inspection there were 9 people using the service.
People’s experience of using this service and what we found
Right support: Model of care and setting maximises people’s choice, control and Independence;
People were kept safe from avoidable harm because staff knew them well and understood how to protect them from abuse. The service worked well with other agencies to do so. People were not able to comment on their safety. However, their body language while interacting with staff was relaxed and positive, which indicated they felt safe. A relative commented, “The management team have been very supportive, will always reach out to me if we need to discuss any issues. I have no concerns whatsoever.”
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 lived safely and free from unwarranted restrictions because the service assessed, monitored and managed safety well. There were comprehensive risk assessments in place covering all aspects of the service and support provided.
Medicines were managed as necessary. Infection control measures were in place. Health and social care professionals were regularly involved in people’s care to ensure they received the care and treatment which was right for them.
The number and skills of staff matched the needs of people using the service. There were effective staff recruitment and selection processes in place.
Right care: Care is person-centred and promotes people’s dignity, privacy and human rights;
Staff relationships with people were caring and supportive. Staff provided care that was kind and compassionate. A person commented, “I love it here, the staff are lovely and look after me.” A relative commented, “[Person’s name] has been at The Chantry for a number of years now and is extremely happy there. [Person’s name] is in the right place, is loved and his personal level of care is first class.”
Right culture: Ethos, values, attitudes and behaviours of leaders and care staff ensure people using services lead confident, inclusive, and empowered lives;
Staff put people’s needs and wishes at the heart of everything they did. The provider’s action/improvement plan identified that an area of work was to explore new activities to increase people’s access to meaningful occupations. Two health professionals we spoke with as part of the inspection agreed to contact the service and share best practice ideas and suggestions to support this action to increase person-centred care and support.
The service worked hard to instil a culture of care in which staff truly valued and promoted people’s individuality, protected their rights and enabled them to develop and flourish.
Staff felt respected, supported, and valued by the management team which supported a positive and improvement-driven culture.
Systems were in place to monitor the quality and safety of the service. Our inspection found that these systems needed to be reorganised to ensure they remained effective. As a result, following our inspection the management team contacted the Quality Assurance and Improvement Team (QAIT). Local authority QAIT support services to implement robust systems and processes to ensure people receive appropriate person-centred care and support. A QAIT visit was scheduled for 13 July 2023.
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 5 March 2020).
Why we inspected
This inspection was prompted by a review of the information we held about this service and length of time since the last inspection. We looked at infection prevention and control measures under the Safe key question. We look at this in all care home inspections even if no concerns or risks have been identified. This is to provide assurance that the service can respond to COVID-19 and other infection outbreaks effectively.
You can read the report from our last comprehensive inspection, by selecting the 'all reports' link for The Chantry on our website at www.cqc.org.uk.
Follow up
We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service, which will help inform when we next inspect.