The Phoenix

Updated 16 November 2023

The inspection

We carried out this inspection under Section 60 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (the Act) as part of our regulatory functions. We checked whether the provider was meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Act. We looked at the overall quality of the service and provided a rating for the service under the Health and Social Care Act 2008.

As part of this inspection we looked at the infection control and prevention measures in place. This was conducted so we can understand the preparedness of the service in preventing or managing an infection outbreak, and to identify good practice we can share with other services.

Inspection team

The inspection was carried out by 1 inspector.

Service and service type

The Phoenix is a ‘care home’. People in care homes receive accommodation and nursing and/or personal care as a single package under one contractual agreement dependent on their registration with us. The Phoenix is a care home without nursing care. CQC regulates both the premises and the care provided, and both were looked at during this inspection.

Registered Manager

This provider is required to have a registered manager to oversee the delivery of regulated activities at this location. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission to manage the service. Registered managers and providers are legally responsible for how the service is run, for the quality and safety of the care provided and compliance with regulations.

At the time of our inspection there was a registered manager in post.

Notice of inspection

This inspection was unannounced.

What we did before the inspection

We reviewed information we had received about the service since the last inspection. We sought feedback from the local authority and professionals who work with the service. The provider was not asked to complete a Provider Information Return (PIR) prior to this inspection. A PIR is information providers send us to give some key information about the service, what the service does well and improvements they plan to make. We used all this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection

We spoke with 2 people who lived at The Phoenix. Not all of the people living at The Phoenix were fully able to communicate their views and experience, so we observed the care and support they received. We spoke with 2 relatives, 5 support workers, the deputy manager and the registered manager. We also spoke with an operations manager and the nominated individual. The nominated individual is responsible for supervising the management of the service on behalf of the provider.

We looked at 3 people's care and medicine records, staff recruitment and training records and management records to assess safety and governance within the service.

Updated 16 November 2023

About the service

The Phoenix is a residential care home providing personal care to up to a maximum of 6 people. The service provides support to people living with learning disabilities and/or autism in one adapted building. At the time of our inspection there were 5 people using the service.

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

We expect health and social care providers to guarantee people with a learning disability and autistic people respect, equality, dignity, choices and independence and good access to local communities that most people take for granted. ‘Right support, right care, right culture’ is the guidance CQC follows to make assessments and judgements about services supporting people with a learning disability and autistic people and providers must have regard to it.

Right Support

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 received their medicines safely and had access to appropriate health and social care support.

Support plans were person-centred and reflected people’s views and wishes.

People were supported to maintain meaningful relationships with people who mattered to them.

Right Care

Support was personalised and promoted people’s individuality and human rights.

Staff were trained and understood how to support to people to stay safe from harm or abuse.

There were enough appropriately skilled staff to meet people’s needs.

Right Culture

The values and attitudes of managers and staff supported people to live inclusive and empowered lifestyles. Staff promoted equality and diversity when supporting people.

There were systems in place to monitor the quality of the services provided and a culture of improvement had become embedded in the service.

People and staff had opportunities to give feedback about the service and contribute their thoughts and ideas for improvement. They felt listened to and were confident that any issues would be resolved.

For more details, please see the full report which is on the CQC website at www.cqc.org.uk

Rating at last inspection and update

The last rating for this service was inadequate (published 31 October 2022) and there were breaches of regulation. At this inspection we found improvements had been made and the provider was no longer in breach of regulations.

This service has been in Special Measures since 31 October 2022. During this inspection the provider demonstrated that improvements have been made. The service is no longer rated as inadequate overall or in any of the key questions. Therefore, this service is no longer in Special Measures.

Why we inspected

We carried out an unannounced inspection of this service on 16 August 2022. Breaches of legal requirements were found. The provider completed an action plan after the last inspection to show what they would do and by when to improve safe care and treatment, need for consent, safeguarding service users from abuse and improper treatment and staffing.

We undertook this focused inspection to check they had followed their action plan and to confirm they now met legal requirements. This report only covers our findings in relation to the Key Questions Safe, Effective and Well-led which contain those requirements.

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.

For those key questions not inspected, we used the ratings awarded at the last comprehensive inspection to calculate the overall rating. The overall rating for the service has changed from inadequate to good. This is based on the findings at this inspection.

You can read the report from our last inspection, by selecting the ‘all reports’ link for The Phoenix 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.