Evergreen

Updated 11 June 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 was undertaken by one inspector.

Service and service type: Evergreen 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. It provides a service to adults who live with a learning disability or autistic spectrum disorder and physical disabilities.

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: The inspection was unannounced. This meant the staff and provider did not know we would be visiting.

What we did: When planning our inspection, we looked at the information we held about the service. This included the Provider Information Return (PIR), notifications received from the provider about deaths, safeguarding alerts and serious injuries, which they are required to send us by law. We assessed the information we require providers to send us at least once annually to give some key information about the service, what the service does well and improvements they plan to make. This information helps support our inspections. We also asked stakeholders, such as the local authority safeguarding team and commissioners, for their views of the service.

During the inspection we met all of the people who lived at the home. Some people using the service at Evergreen were not able to fully share with us their experiences of using the service. Therefore, we spent time observing staff member’s interactions with people in communal areas. We spoke with the registered manager, two shift leaders, two support workers and the maintenance person. Following our inspection, we spoke with two relatives and two health professionals. We used this information to form part of our judgement.

We sampled three people's care records to see how their care and treatment was planned and delivered. Other records looked at included one recruitment file to check suitable staff members were recruited and received appropriate training. We also sampled records relating to the management of the service along with a selection of the provider's policies and procedures, to ensure people received a good quality service.

Details are in the 'Key Questions' below

Updated 11 June 2019

About the service: Evergreen is a residential care home that provides accommodation and personal care and support to a maximum of eight people who live with an acquired brain injury and / or have mental health needs. At the time of our inspection six people were living at the service and one person was in hospital.

People’s experience of using this service:

The registered manager told us, “We are about the individual, every day is different.”

People continued to receive safe care. Staff understood their responsibility around safeguarding people and they knew how to recognise abuse.

Risks to people were assessed and managed and known well by staff.

There were enough staff who were appropriately trained and recruited to support people.

People received their medicines as prescribed and systems were in place for the safe administration of medicines.

We saw staff used protective equipment such as gloves and aprons to help protect people from the prevention and control of infection.

Relatives told us their loved ones were supported by staff who had the relevant skills to meet their needs.

Staff told us how they supported people to eat and drink enough to maintain a balanced diet.

People were supported to access other health professionals when needed

People were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff supported them in the least restrictive way possible; the policies and systems in the service supported this practice.

We saw staff were kind and caring when interacting with people.

Staff treated people with dignity and respect and helped to maintain people's independence by encouraging them to care for themselves where possible.

People’s support plans included information about their wishes and goals.

Staff identified people's information and communication needs by assessing them and were responsive to people’s individual needs.

Complaints received had been investigated and resolved. People and their relatives knew who to contact if they had any complaints.

The provider had quality assurance systems in place and these were used to drive improvement. People's feedback was sought through different methods to meet people’s communication needs and this information was used to implement actions and changes.

People, relatives and staff spoke positively about the registered manager.

Rating at last inspection: The service was rated Good overall. Our last report was published on 29 April 2016.

Why we inspected: This inspection was part of our scheduled plan of visiting services to check the safety and quality of care people received.

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

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