Background to this inspection
Updated
20 March 2020
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 Care Act 2014.
Inspection team
The inspection was carried out by one inspector
Service and service type
The Thomas More Project Residential Care Home is a ‘care home’. People in care homes receive accommodation and nursing or personal care as single package under one contractual agreement. CQC regulates both the premises and the care provided, and both were looked at during this inspection.
The service had a manager registered with the Care Quality Commission. This means that they and the provider are legally responsible for how the service is run and for the quality and safety of the care provided.
Notice of inspection
This inspection was unannounced.
What we did before 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. This is information providers are required to send us with key information about their service, what they do well, and improvements they plan to make. This information helps support our inspections. We used all this information to plan our inspection.
During the inspection
We met eight people who lived at the home. We used the Short Observational Framework for Inspection (SOFI). SOFI is a specific way of observing care to help us understand the experience of people who could not talk with us.
We spoke by phone to three relatives of people living at the home.
We spoke to four staff, which included the registered manager and a senior manager. They assisted us with the inspection.
We reviewed a range of records. This included one person’s care records and medicine records.
We looked at three 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.
Updated
20 March 2020
About the service
The Thomas More Project Care Home is registered to provide personal care and accommodation for up to 10 people who live with a learning disability. On the day of our visit there were eight people living at the home.
People’s experience of using this service and what we found
As was applicable at the last inspection people were supported by staff who knew how to keep them safe. Medicines were managed and given to people safely. Medicines policies and procedures were up to date and easily available for staff. Emergency procedures and contingency plans were in place. These help to keep people safe in an emergency. To further support people to stay safe, staff used personal protective equipment when supporting people with intimate care. Infection control guidance was in place and staff had completed training in this subject. Safe recruitment procedures continued to be in place. Staff were supported in their role with training and supervision. Staff felt well supported in their day to day roles by the registered manager.
People enjoyed the food and their dietary needs were assessed. Care plans explained how to support people with these needs. People were supported by staff who knew how to support them in this area of their life .
Staff were kind and respectful towards people. We saw staff engage with people in a warm and positive way. Staff had a very good understand of people’s body language to know how they were feeling and what their needs were.
People were supported by a staff team who were stable and had built up warm relationships with them and their relatives. They understood how to meet each person's individual needs and knew people’s routines and preferences in their daily life.
People were supported to receive care that was flexible and responsive and met their needs. Care plans reflected this. People and families were involved in regularly reviewing and updating them with the staff.
Relatives we spoke with were very positive about home. One said, “The staff here are very very good, nothing is too much trouble.”
People took part in a wide range of social and therapeutic activities. People were encouraged to maintain contact with relatives and friends.
People were also supported by a range of health and social care professionals who worked with them at the home. People were well supported and their needs had been assessed. Care plans and risk assessments set out to staff how to meet people’s needs and keep them safe.
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 benefited because there were effective systems to check and monitor the overall quality of care and support to make sure it was safe and suitable. This was undertaken through a range of audit systems. These checking systems picked up areas for development and improvement. When these were picked up swift actions were taken to improve the care and service even more.
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 (report published April 2017)
Why we inspected: This was a planned inspection based on the previous rating.