The Maples

Updated 27 June 2019

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: This inspection was carried out by an adult social care inspector.

Service and service type: Helen House 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.

The service had two managers who were registered with the Care Quality Commission. This means 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: We reviewed information we had received about the service since the last inspection. 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 of this information to plan our inspection.

We spoke with two people who used the service and one person’s relative about their experience of the care provided. We spoke with four members of staff including the registered manager, service manager and support workers.

We reviewed a range of records. This included two people’s care records and medication records. We looked at two 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 27 June 2019

About the service: Helen House is a residential care home for people who have autism. The main part of the building is being redeveloped and is currently not occupied. Accommodation and support is provided for three people within one part of the home, in three self-contained flats.

People’s experience of using this service: The three people living at Helen House were supported by individualised, consistent and long-standing staff teams. There was evidence that people had really benefitted from this approach. People were supported to make as many decisions as possible in their lives and support. They were supported to communicate their decisions and to express themselves. Some staff had supported people for over ten years; however, whilst knowing the person well they did not assume what decisions they would make and asked people before they supported them.

As much as possible people were in control and took ownership of their own flats. One person told us, “I like my flat.” Another person said, “My flat is nice.” Staff treated people with dignity and respect and told us they recognised that they were visitors in the person’s home.

Some areas of people’s support were not in line with the principles of Registering the Right Support. Helen House is on a campus setting with other services for people who have autism. However, this was mitigated by the application of the principles of Registering the Right Support in the individualised approach to people’s day to day support, staff team and accommodation. People had as much control as possible over their lives.

People and their family members told us they felt the home was safe. People had individualised risk assessments that provided guidance for staff on how to keep people safe. Staff received training and regular refreshers on how to support people during risky situations and how to safely de-escalate these situations. Staff told us they found this training useful.

People told us that they were happy with the support they received. One person told us that they really enjoyed joking with support staff. Another person told us, “[Its] nice living here” It was clear that people had good relationships with and were comfortable with the staff supporting them.

Each person had a personalised support plan that was meaningful to them and offered guidance for staff on how to best meet people’s needs. Support plans contained details of what was important to a person, including important relationships, along with short- and long-term goals. They also contained details on how to support people when they are anxious, a sensory profile highlighting what is to be avoided that a person does not like; and details such as how a person understands time. This level of thought and detail helped staff to meet people’s needs and maximise their control over their life.

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 praised the support they received from the registered manager and other senior staff. There was ongoing training provided, regular supervision, team meetings and an annual appraisal of staff performance. One staff member told us, “It feels like the organisation care about me. I feel listened to.”

Rating at last inspection: At our previous inspection published in October 2016 we rated the service as Good. During this inspection we saw that this rating had been maintained.

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

Follow up: We will continue to monitor the service and will inspect again in accordance with our inspection principles.

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