The Bungalow

Updated 25 August 2018

We carried out this inspection under Section 60 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 as part of our regulatory functions. This inspection was planned to check whether the provider is meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Health and Social Care Act 2008, to look at the overall quality of the service, and to provide a rating for the service under the Care Act 2014.

This inspection took place on 23 July 2018 and was unannounced. The inspection team consisted of one inspector.

We used information the provider sent us in the ‘Provider Information Return’. This is information we require providers to send us at least once annually to give some key information about the service, what the service does well and improvements they plan to make. We also reviewed other information that we hold about the service such as safeguarding information and notifications. Notifications are the events happening in the service that the provider is required to tell us about. We used this information to plan what areas we were going to focus on during our inspection.

We used the Short Observational Framework for inspection [SOFI]. SOFI is a way of observing care to help us understand the experience of people who could not talk with us.

We spoke with three people, one visiting relative, three members of staff and the registered manager. We reviewed two people’s care files and three staff recruitment and support records. We also looked at a sample of the service’s quality assurance systems, the registered provider’s arrangements for managing medication, staff training records, staff duty rotas and complaints records.

Updated 25 August 2018

The Bungalow is a care home. People in care homes receive accommodation and nursing or personal care as a single package under one contractual agreement. CQC regulates both the premises and the care provided, and both were looked at during this inspection.

The Bungalow accommodates up to six adults who have a learning disability and who may also have a physical disability and autistic spectrum disorder. The Bungalow is a large detached house situated in a quiet residential area in Colchester. The premises enables each person using the service to have their own individual bedroom and adequate communal facilities are available for people to make use of within the service.

The care service has been developed and designed in line with the values that underpin the ‘Registering the Right Support’ and other best practice guidance. These values include choice, promotion of independence and inclusion. People with learning disabilities and autism using the service can live as ordinary a life as any citizen.

At the last inspection on 13 January 2016, the service was rated ‘Good’. At this inspection we found the service remained ‘Good’.

This inspection was completed on 23 July 2018 and there were six people living at The Bungalow.

A registered manager was 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.

Our key findings across all the areas we inspected were as follows:

• Suitable arrangements were in place to keep people safe. Policies and procedures were followed by staff to safeguard people and staff understood these measures. Risks to people were identified and managed to prevent people from receiving unsafe care and support. The service was appropriately staffed to meet the needs of the people using the service. People received their medication as prescribed and in a safe way. Recruitment procedures were followed to ensure the right staff were employed. People were protected by the providers arrangements for the prevention and control of infection. Arrangements were in place for learning and making improvements when things go wrong.

• Staff had an induction to carry out their role and responsibilities. Staff had the right competencies and skills to meet people’s needs and received regular training opportunities. Suitable arrangements were in place for staff to receive regular formal supervision and an annual appraisal of their overall performance. People’s nutritional and hydration needs were met and they were provided with drinks and snacks throughout the day. People received appropriate healthcare support as and when needed from a variety of professional services. The service worked together with other organisations to ensure people received coordinated care and support. People were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff supported them in the least restrictive way possible; the policies and systems in the service support this practice.

• People were treated with care, dignity and respect. People received a good level of care and support that met their needs and preferences. Staff had a good knowledge and understanding of people’s specific care and support needs and how they wished to be cared for and supported.

• Support plans were in place to reflect how people would like to receive their care and support, and covered all aspects of a person's individual circumstances. Social activities were available for people to enjoy and experience both ‘in house’ and within the local community. Information about how to make a complaint was available and people’s representatives told us they were confident to raise issues or concerns.

• Suitable arrangements were in place to assess and monitor the quality of the service provided. There was a positive culture within the service that was person-centred, open and inclusive. The service sought people’s and others views about the quality of the service provided.