Cotswold Cottage

Updated 15 July 2021

We carried out this inspection under Section 60 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 as part of our regulatory functions. This inspection was planned to check whether the provider is meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Health and Social Care Act 2008.

As part of CQC’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic, we are looking at the preparedness of care homes in relation to infection prevention and control. This was a targeted inspection looking at the infection control and prevention measures the provider has in place.

This inspection took place on 10 May 2021 and was announced.

Updated 15 July 2021

This inspection took place on 7 and 8 March 2018. It was an unannounced visit to the service.

We previously inspected the service on 4 and 12 December 2015. The service was meeting the requirements of the regulations at that time and was rated ‘Good’ overall.

Cotswold Cottage 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. Eight people were living at the service at the time of our inspection. People had complex learning and physical disabilities.

The care service has been developed and designed in line with the values that underpin the Registering the Right Support and other best practice guidance. These values include choice, promotion of independence and inclusion. People with learning disabilities and autism using the service can live as ordinary a life as any citizen.

The service had a registered manager in post. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission to manage the service. Like registered providers, they are ‘registered persons’. Registered persons have legal responsibility for meeting the requirements in the Health and Social Care Act 2008 and associated Regulations about how the service is run.

We received positive feedback about the service. A healthcare professional told us “From what I have observed and heard from the staff, they manage and cope well with complex patients such as tube fed patients, alongside having the appropriate tools to manage such patients…If staff have any queries then they do not hesitate to contact myself for advice or another dietetic assessment.”

People were kept safe at the service. Robust recruitment procedures were used to make sure staff had the right skills to support people. Medicines were managed safely. Improvements had been made to standards of cleanliness at the home.

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.

Staff received support to help them develop as workers and to meet the needs of the people they cared for. This included regular meetings with their managers and good training opportunities.

People’s nutritional and healthcare needs were effectively met. Staff followed any guidance from community professionals to keep people healthy and well.

Staff were kind and caring towards people. They promoted people’s independence and treated them with dignity and respect.

People received person-centred care. Their needs were recorded in written care plans; these were kept up to date. People were supported to take part in social activities. There were procedures for making complaints and compliments about people’s care.

The service was managed well. The provider carried out checks and audits of people’s care to ensure it met their needs. Recent audits showed the service was performing well.