Low Laithes

Low Laithes is a residential care home providing accommodation and personal care for up to 35 young people with learning disabilities or autistic spectrum disorder. The accommodation comprises of self-contained maisonettes, which include a kitchen/dining area, living area and a bedroom with en-suite facilities. The location also has communal areas and a number of activity areas and gardens on site.

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

The service continued to provide a good standard of care and the leadership team demonstrated a commitment to continuously improving the service. The registered manager was supportive, responsive and promoted a culture of person-centred care at the service. The registered provider had an effective system of governance in place to monitor and improve the quality and safety of the service.

People's needs were assessed, and care was planned and delivered in a person-centred way, in line with legislation and guidance. People were supported to receive their medicines when they needed them and records showed people had regular access to healthcare professionals to make sure their health care needs were met. People’s nutritional needs were met and the menus we saw offered variety and choice.

Staff were recruited safely and there were enough of them to keep people safe and to meet their care needs. Staff received appropriate training which was relevant to their role and people's needs. Staff were knowledgeable about how to identify and report any safeguarding concerns, which had been reported to the local authority as per the reporting procedure.

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.

We expect health and social care providers to guarantee autistic people and people with a learning disability the choices, dignity, independence and good access to local communities that most people take for granted. Right Support, right care, right culture is the statutory guidance which supports CQC to make assessments and judgements about services providing support to people with a learning disability and/or autistic people.

This service was able to demonstrate how they were meeting the underpinning principles of Right support, right care, right culture.

Right support:

• The setting at Low Laithes was based in a rural location rather than being community based. People were still able to access community and nearby shops. The location benefited people being able to access the countryside for walks and bike rides.

Right care:

• Care was person-centred and promoted people’s dignity, privacy and human rights. People were supported in the least restrictive way and education and learning was promoted.

Right culture:

• Ethos, values, attitudes and behaviours of leaders and care staff ensured people using services were leading confident, inclusive and empowered lives.

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 (published 9 January 2018).

Why we inspected

We received information of concern in relation to two other services run by this provider. These included concerns to people’s safety, staff culture and governance. A decision was made for us to inspect and examine those risks at all of the provider’s ASC locations, to see if these concerns were repeated. As a result, we undertook a focused inspection to review the key questions of safe, effective and well-led only.

We reviewed the information we held about the service. No areas of concern were identified in the other key questions. We therefore did not inspect them. Ratings from previous comprehensive inspections for those key questions were used in calculating the overall rating at this inspection.

The overall rating for the service has not changed. This is based on the findings at this inspection.

We found no evidence during this inspection that people were at risk of harm from this concern. Please see the safe, effective and well-led sections of this full report.

You can read the report from our last comprehensive inspection, by selecting the ‘all reports’ link for Low Laithes on our website at www.cqc.org.uk.

Follow up

We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service until we return to visit as per our re-inspection programme. If we receive any concerning information we may inspect sooner.

As part of the provider’s pandemic response they had risk assessed issues which may impact on people and staff’s health and safety at the home. Where risks were identified, procedures or control measures were implemented to embed current practice guidance as well as reduce such risks. For example, the provider assessed all shared areas of the service to ensure social distancing and national guidance was being complied with. Information about the maximum number of people safely permitted in a room at any one time was displayed. Offices were adapted so staff could continue to work safely.

The physical layout of the service meant social distancing and shielding was achievable. Each person who used the service had their own self-contained apartment and were able to access to a range of local amenities and onsite facilities to complement and enrich the lives of those living at Low Laithes.

The service had good engagement practices with people who lived at the service and with family. They kept everyone up to date with national guidance as well as involving them in changes happening at the service. The service utilised technology to encourage people to stay in contact with family and friends.

Staff were trained on how to keep people safe from the risk of infection and how to use PPE correctly. Through observation and discussions with staff, it was clear training was well embedded. The provider supplied staff with additional PPE so they were able to travel to and from work safely.

Further information is in the detailed findings below.

Low Laithes 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.

Low Laithes is registered to provide accommodation for up to a maximum of 35 children or younger adults with learning disabilities or autistic spectrum disorder, who require personal care. The home does not provide nursing care.

The accommodation comprises of self-contained maisonettes, which include a kitchen/dining area, living area and a bedroom with en-suite facilities. The location also has communal areas and a number of activity areas and gardens on site.

At the last inspection, the service was rated good.

At this inspection we found the service remained good.

Staff understood how to keep people safe through their knowledge of safeguarding procedures and people’s individual risk assessments. Medicines were managed and stored safely. Effective monitoring systems helped to keep the premises safe and emergency procedures were in place. We observed sufficient numbers of staff were deployed in order to provide safe care and support to people.

Staff received appropriate induction and training to enable effective care and support to be provided. Ongoing supervision was evident. People were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and we observed staff supported people in the least restrictive way possible; the policies and systems in the service supported this practice.

Positive relationships between staff and people who lived at Low Laithes were evident. Staff were respectful and mindful of ensuring people’s privacy was respected. Diversity was embraced and human rights were upheld.

Care plans were person-centred and this enabled personalised care and support to be provided. Appropriate referrals were made to health care professionals when this was appropriate.

Systems and processes for improving the safety and quality of the service were in place and were effective. People and staff told us they felt the home was well-led. Staff were clear of their responsibilities.

Further information is in the detailed findings.

We found people experienced care, treatment and support that met their needs and protected their rights. We talked with three parents during our inspection visit. Some comments captured from two sets of parents included 'We love it 'staff have done everything they can to support [X] 'staff have been absolutely wonderful', 'have had concerns lately, can address these with the staff '[who] are approachable and we can talk to them'.

One parent explained how they were kept informed and involved about aspects of their child's care. For example, they stated 'I'm more than happy we are listened to and things are addressed' and 'staff understand care needs, we give them an excellent rating'.

We found there were effective recruitment and retention processes in place.

We found there were effective systems to regularly assess and monitor the quality of service that patients receive.

We found there was a complaints process in place.