Shaftesbury Dolphin Court

Updated 1 November 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. This inspection was planned to check whether the provider was meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Act, to look at the overall quality of the service, and to provide a rating for the service under the Care Act 2014.

Inspection team

The inspection team was made up of three inspectors.

Service and service type

Dolphin Court 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 was an unannounced inspection.

What we did before the inspection

Before the inspection, we reviewed information we had received about the service since the last inspection. This included details about incidents the provider must let us know about, such as abuse; and we sought feedback from the local authority and other professionals involved with the service.

During the inspection

We spoke with the registered manager, the deputy manager, the locality manager, and four members of staff. We spoke with five people and two professionals who worked in partnership with the service. We looked at three people’s care records including their medication records and daily notes. We looked at two staff files. We reviewed training and supervision records and documents relating to the management of the service including complaints and compliments, minutes of meetings and quality audits.

After the inspection

We continued to seek clarification from the provider to validate evidence found.

Updated 1 November 2019

About the service

Dolphin Court is a care home providing personal care and accommodation for up to fifteen people with a learning disability, physical disability and/or acquired brain injury. The service does not provide nursing care. At the time of inspection there were 14 people using the service. Not everyone who used the service received personal care. CQC only inspects where people receive personal care. This is help with tasks related to personal hygiene and eating. Where they do we also consider any wider social care provided. At the time of our inspection the service were providing personal care to 11 people.

People’s experience of using this service

Feedback we received from people and professionals about the service was positive. People enjoyed living at the service were in control of their day to day lives. The vision and values of the service which were shared by all staff reflected best practice principles ensuring people received support to live full and independent lives, challenging the barriers around supporting people with disabilities.

Staff knew how to protect people from the risk of harm. Risks to people had been assessed and staff knew what to do to keep people safe. There were sufficient staff employed to meet people's needs who had been safely recruited.

Safe systems for the management of medicines were in place. Only staff who had been trained and assessed as competent administered medicines. The service practiced the principles of STOMP which aims to stop the overuse of anti-psychotic medication for people with learning disabilities or mental health conditions. The service demonstrated a 'learning culture' where accident and errors were reflected upon to improve practice.

A range of support mechanisms were in place including the provision of regular training, supervision and observations of staff to practice to ensure staff had the skills and knowledge to support people effectively.

People were supported to have enough to eat and drink that met their needs and preferences. Staff supported people to access healthcare treatment and advice as needed to help maintain people's health and wellbeing. The home environment was suitable for people's needs. Rooms had been personalised to reflect people's tastes.

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.

Staff were kind and caring and had formed positive relationships with people. People were listened to and included in all aspects of their care and support planning. Staff treated people with dignity and respect and protected their privacy. Independence was encouraged and promoted.

The service adopted a person-centred approach placing people at the heart of the service. People's care and support plans were written in a personalised way that reflected each person's individual needs and preferences.

There were systems and policies in place to respond to complaints. If people had particular needs and preferences around end of life care, these were known and recorded. Staff showed a good awareness of people's wishes.

The culture of the service was open and inclusive and the service benefitted from good leadership. Staff enjoyed working at the service and felt well supported. Quality assurance systems were in place to monitor the safety and quality of the service and improvements were driven by engagement with people whose views were listened to and acted upon.

Rating at last inspection: Good. (Last report published April 2017).

Why we inspected: This was a planned inspection based on the previous rating.

Follow up: We will continue to monitor the service.

For more details, please see the full report which is on the CQC website at www.cqc.org.uk