10 March 2023
During an inspection looking at part of the service
Brookmead is a residential care home registered to provide accommodation and personal care for up to 5 people, who have a learning disability and/or autistic people. There were 5 people living in the home at the time of our inspection. The building had 2 floors and a communal kitchen, dining area and lounge. Each person has their own bathroom. The service is located in a residential area with access to local amenities.
We expect health and social care providers to guarantee people with a learning disability and autistic people respect, equality, dignity, choices and independence and good access to local communities that most people take for granted. ‘Right support, right care, right culture’ is the guidance CQC follows to make assessments and judgements about services supporting people with a learning disability and autistic people and providers must have regard to it.
People’s experience of using this service and what we found
Right Support
People did not have assessments of their sensory needs. This meant potential adaptions to the environment had not been fully considered. Staff were aware informally of some people’s sensory needs and the registered manager had made referrals to request formal sensory assessments to be carried out.
Staff supported people with their medicines in a way that promoted their independence and achieved the best possible health outcome. Staff supported people to play an active role in maintaining their own health and wellbeing.
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.
Right Care
People's care and support plans did not always fully reflect their range of needs using respectful and empowering language. The registered manager was aware of and addressing shortfalls in written records.
People could take part in activities of their choosing at the service or in the wider local area and pursue their own interests. Staff received training and support to provide care effectively.
People received kind and compassionate care. Staff protected and respected people's privacy and dignity. Staff understood and responded to their individual needs; the service worked with other agencies to do so. Staff and people cooperated to assess risks people might face and staff responsibly encouraged people to take positive risks.
Right Culture
Leaders and the culture they created did not always support the delivery of high-quality, person-centred care. Internal quality assurance systems and processes to maintain and develop the safety and quality of care were not always operating effectively.
People and their relatives told us, they liked living at Brookmead care home and liked the registered manager and staff.
People and staff equality and diversity was respected and promoted at the service and within the provider’s organisation.
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 17 September 2017).
We looked at infection prevention and control measures under the Safe key question. We look at this in all care home inspections even if no concerns or risks have been identified. This is to provide assurance that the service can respond to COVID-19 and other infection outbreaks effectively.
Why we inspected
This inspection was prompted by a review of the information we held about this service. This report only covers our findings in relation to the Key Questions Safe and Well-led. For those key questions not inspected, we used the ratings awarded at the last inspection to calculate the overall rating.
We looked at infection prevention and control measures under the Safe key question. We look at this in all care home inspections even if no concerns or risks have been identified. This is to provide assurance that the service can respond to COVID-19 and other infection outbreaks effectively.
The overall rating for the service has changed from good to requires improvement based on the findings of this inspection.
Enforcement and Recommendations
We have identified a breach in relation to governance at this inspection. Please see the action we have told the provider to take at the end of this report.
Follow up
We will request an action plan from the provider to understand what they will do to improve the standards of quality and safety. We will work alongside the provider and local authority to monitor progress. We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service, which will help inform when we next inspect.
You can read the report from our last comprehensive inspection, by selecting the ‘all reports’ link for Brookmead care home on our website at www.cqc.org.uk.