Dannsa House

Updated 28 June 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.

This was a focused inspection to check whether the provider had met the requirements of the Warning Notice in relation to Regulation 18 (Staffing) of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014.

As part of this inspection, we looked at the infection prevention and control 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

One inspector carried out the inspection.

Service and service type

Dannsa House 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. Dannsa House 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 the manager was in the process of applying to CQC to be registered as the manager of Dannsa House. They were notified their application had been successful shortly after our inspection site visits had taken place.

Notice of inspection

The inspection site visit on 24 May 2023 was unannounced. We returned on 26 May 2023 to complete the inspection site visit. We gave the service 24 hours’ notice of this second site visit. This was because it is a small service and we needed to be sure that the provider or manager would be in the office to support the inspection.

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. We used the information the provider sent us in the provider information return (PIR). This is information providers are required to send us annually with key information about their service, what they do well, and improvements they plan to make.

During the inspection

We observed staff interactions with the 4 people who used the service. As the people were unable to communicate verbally, we spent time observing their body language during their interactions with care staff to help us understand the experience of people who could not talk with us. We used the Quality of Life Tool which is designed to support the corroboration of all sources of evidence gathered during inspection.

We spoke with 9 members of staff including care staff, agency care staff, senior carers, the manager, and interim area manager. We reviewed a range of records. This included elements of 4 people's care records and a sample of people’s medication records. We looked at 5 staff files in relation to recruitment and staff supervision. A variety of records relating to the management of the service, including policies and procedures, were reviewed. We looked at training data and quality assurance records.

We received feedback about the service from 2 external professionals who had recent and ongoing involvement with the service. We received feedback from 5 relatives of the people who lived at the care home. We also received feedback, by pho

Updated 28 June 2023

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.

About the service

Dannsa House is a residential care home registered to provide personal and nursing care for up to 5 people. The service provides support to people who have learning disabilities and/or autistic people. Nursing care was not being provided at this care home. At the time of our inspection there were 4 people using the service.

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

Right Support

The staff supported people to have the maximum possible choice and control over their own lives. The service gave people care and support in a safe, clean, well equipped, well-furnished and well-maintained environment that met their sensory and physical needs. People had a choice about their living environment and were able to personalise their rooms. Staff enabled people to access specialist health and social care support in the community.

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.

Right Care

Staff understood and responded to people’s individual needs. Staff understood how to protect people from poor care and abuse. The service worked well with other agencies to do so. Staff had training on how to recognise and report abuse and they knew how to apply it. People who had individual ways of communicating, using body language, sounds, Makaton (a form of sign language), could interact comfortably with staff and others involved in their care and support because staff had the necessary skills to understand them. People’s care, treatment and support plans reflected their range of needs, and this promoted their wellbeing and enjoyment of life.

Right Culture

Staff placed people’s wishes, needs and rights at the heart of everything they did. People and those important to them were involved in planning their care. Staff valued and acted upon people’s views. The manager ensured risks of a closed culture were minimised so that people received support based on transparency, respect, and inclusivity.

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 Requires Improvement (published 18 October 2022).

We also issued the provider with a Warning Notice in respect of staffing issues which required swift improvements. The provider completed an action plan after the last inspection to show what they would do and by when to improve.

At this inspection we found improvements had been made and the provider had complied with the requirements of the Warning Notice and was no longer in breach of regulations.

Why we inspected

We undertook this focused inspection to check whether the Warning Notice we previously served in relation to Regulation 18 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014 had been met. We also checked if the provider had followed their action plan and to confirm whether they now met legal requirements. This report only covers our findings in relation to the Key Questions of Safe, Effective, Responsive 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 the Caring key question not inspected, we used the rating awarded at the last inspection to calculate the overall rating. The overall rating for the service has changed from Requires Improvement to Good. This is based on the findings at this inspection.

You can read the report from our last comprehensive inspection, by selecting the ‘all reports’ link for Dannsa House 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.