Station House

Updated 23 November 2022

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 conducted by 1 inspector.

Service and service type

Station 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. Station 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 there was not a registered manager in post. A new manager was in post and had submitted an application to register. We are currently assessing this application.

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. 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.

We used all this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection

We met 3 people who used the service and observed their interactions with staff. People who used the service used different ways of communicating including single words or sounds and body language. We spoke with 3 relatives about their experience of the care provided and 1 professional visitor. We also spoke with 3 staff, the manager and the nominated individual. The nominated individual is responsible for supervising the management of the service on behalf of the provider.

We reviewed a range of records, these included 2 people’s care records, medicines records for 3 people, and quality assurance records. We also looked at 4 staff recruitment files.

Updated 23 November 2022

About the service

Station House is a residential care home providing personal to up to 6 people in 1 adapted building. The service provides support to people under the age of 65 with learning disabilities, sensory impairments and mental health conditions. 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 received care in a relaxed, homely environment and were supported to personalise their bedrooms to reflect their interests and tastes. Staff worked with people to identify their hopes, dreams and choices, with both short and long term goals. Staff supported people to be active members of their community and take part in activities they enjoyed.

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:

People were supported by sufficient numbers of staff to meet their assessed need. People received support from staff who knew them well and were friendly and caring. Staff had received training in safeguarding and understood how to report concerns and protect people from harm. Care plans contained detailed information about people’s needs and reflected people’s individual needs and characteristics. Risks to people were assessed and information shared with staff to ensure people received care that promoted positive risk taking.

Right Culture:

People received support from a consistent staff team who knew them well and understood their interests, likes and dislikes. People knew the management team, and the manager was regularly involved in providing care to people. Staff worked together with other professionals to help people achieve their health, well-being and personal goals. The manager welcomed feedback and was proactive in identifying areas where improvements could be made.

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 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 16 February 2022) and there were breaches of regulation. 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 was no longer in breach of regulations.

Why we inspected

We carried out an unannounced focused inspection of this service on 23 November 2021. 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, good governance, staffing and fit and proper persons employed.

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 and Well-led which contain those requirements.

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 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 Station 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.