Archived: County Road

Updated 11 October 2019

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

This inspection was carried out by one inspector.

Service and service type

County Road is a ‘care home’. People in care homes receive accommodation and nursing or personal care as a single package under one contractual agreement. The 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 the inspection

We reviewed the notifications received from the provider. The law requires providers to send us notifications about certain events that happen during the running of a 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 sought feedback from the local authority and professionals who work with the service. We used all of this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection

We spoke with three people who used the service about their experience of the care provided. We spoke with three staff members and the registered manager. We looked over the environment of the care home and reviewed a range of records. These included medication administration records and people's daily notes. We looked at recruitment, induction, training and supervision records for four staff members as well as other records relating to the management of the service.

After the inspection

We spoke to one relative and one professional who worked closely with the service.

Updated 11 October 2019

About the service

County Road is a residential care home providing personal care to six people with learning disabilities at the time of the inspection. County Road accommodates up to seven people with learning disabilities in one purpose-adapted building. The service is located in Swindon and has easy access to the local town centre. People are accommodated on the three floors of the building.

The service has been developed and designed in line with the principles and values that underpin Registering the Right Support and other best practice guidance. This ensures that people who use the service can live as full a life as possible and achieve the best possible outcomes. The principles reflect the need for people with learning disabilities and/or autism to live meaningful lives that include control, choice, and independence. People using the service receive planned and co-ordinated person-centred support that is appropriate and inclusive for them.

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

People, their relatives and professionals cooperating with the service consistently praised the quality of the personalised care and support provided to people living at County Road.

Risks to people were identified and managed safely by staff who understood their responsibilities to protect people from abuse and avoidable harm. A sufficient number of staff with the required skills and knowledge provided people with personalised care. Staff administered people's medicines safely. We found the environment of the care home was clean and had been well maintained. Accidents and incidents were reviewed by the registered manager to identify trends and to ensure necessary learning was shared with staff.

Staff were supported through training and meetings to maintain and when needed enhance their skills and knowledge to support people. People were supported to eat a varied diet which met their needs and preferences. People attended regular appointments and annual health reviews. Staff worked with other professionals for advice, guidance and support.

Staff supported people to make day to day decisions and be in control of how they spent their time. 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.

The service applied the principles and values of Registering the Right Support and other best practice guidance. These ensure that people who use the service can live as full a life as possible and achieve the best possible outcomes that include control, choice and independence.

People received personalised care and support from caring staff who respected people's privacy and dignity and understood the importance of people’s independence. People were supported by staff to make decisions about their care and support. Staff used their knowledge of people's preferred ways of communicating to assist people to make their own choices.

People had opportunities to take part in a variety of activities. People were supported to maintain contact with their relatives. People, their relatives and staff were encouraged to make any suggestions for developing the care provided further.

The provider and the registered manager checked the quality of care provided through quality audits. The registered manager completed thorough investigations into any concerns and acted to improve the service.

The outcomes for people using the service reflected the principles and values of Registering the Right Support by promoting choice and control, independence and inclusion. People's support focused on them having as many opportunities as possible for them to gain new skills and become more independent.

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 3 October 2018) and there were two breaches of our regulations. 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

This was a planned inspection based on the previous rating.

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.