Rivelin House

Updated 11 December 2018

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, to look at the overall quality of the service, and to provide a rating for the service under the Care Act 2014.

This inspection took place on 20 November 2018 and was unannounced.

The inspection was carried out by one adult social care inspector.

Prior to the inspection, we gathered information from a number of sources. We reviewed the information we held about the service, which included correspondence we had received and notifications submitted to us by the service. A notification should be sent to CQC every time a significant incident has taken place. For example, where a person who uses the service experiences a serious injury. We reviewed the Provider Information Return (PIR), which the registered provider completed before the inspection. The PIR is a form that asks the registered provider to give some key information about the service, what the service does well and improvements they plan to make.

We contacted Sheffield local authority and Healthwatch (Sheffield) to obtain their views of the service. Healthwatch is an independent consumer champion that gathers and represents the views of the public about health and social care services in England. All of the comments and feedback received were reviewed and used to assist and inform our inspection.

During our inspection, we were unable to fully communicate directly with some people receiving support. We spoke briefly with three people, and with three of their relatives over the telephone, to obtain their views of the support provided. We spent time in communal areas speaking with people and observing how staff interacted with each other and the people they were supporting.

We looked around different areas of the service, which included communal areas, and with their permission, some people’s bedrooms.

We spoke with the operations manager, the peripatetic manager, three support workers, an activities worker, a domestic staff, a bank nurse and an agency nurse to obtain their views.

We reviewed a range of records, which included two people’s support plans, two people’s health files, three staff support and employment records, training records and other records relating to the management of the service.

Updated 11 December 2018

Rivelin 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.

Rivelin House is registered to provide accommodation, nursing and personal care to adults with physical and learning disabilities. The home can accommodate up to eight people. It is situated in the Shiregreen area of Sheffield, close to local amenities and transport links.

There was a manager at the service who had commenced in post 26 October 2018. The manager had applied to register with the Care Quality Commission (CQC). A registered manager is a person who has registered with the CQC 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 and associated Regulations about how the service is run.

The previous registered manager left the service 21 September 2018. The registered providers peripatetic manager for the north region was covering the registered managers absence until the new manager had been inducted into their post.

The registered provider was working within 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.

Our last inspection of Rivelin House took place on 24 March 2016. Whilst the service was rated Good overall, the Well Led section was rated requires improvement. This was because the previous registered manager was managing two homes and split their time between the two services. Staff we spoke with told us that there was a lack of coordination and organisation in the registered manager’s absence. In addition, we found records were not always well maintained and the systems in place to monitor the quality of the service had not identified and addressed these concerns.

This inspection took place on 20 November 2018 and was unannounced. This meant people living at the home, and staff, did not know we would be visiting.

At this inspection, we found sufficient improvements had been made and issues reported on in the Well Led domain had been addressed.

At our last inspection, we rated the service Good. At this inspection, we found the evidence continued to support the rating of Good and there was no evidence or information from our inspection and ongoing monitoring that demonstrated serious risks or concerns. This inspection report is written in a shorter format because our overall rating of the service has not changed since our last inspection.

Why the service is rated Good.

People who lived at Rivelin House had limited or no verbal communication. We saw they were happy to be with staff and staff were respectful and kind in their approach. People’s relatives spoke positively about the standard of care and support their family member received.

Staff were aware of their responsibilities in keeping people safe.

Medicines were managed safely.

There were robust recruitment procedures in operation to promote people’s safety.

Staff were provided with relevant training and supervision so they had the skills they needed to undertake their role.

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.

People’s support plans contained relevant person-centred information to inform staff. The support plans had been reviewed to ensure they were up to date.

Relatives of people receiving support were confident in reporting concerns to the staff and manager and felt they would be listened to.

There were quality assurance and audit processes in place to make sure the service was running well.

The service had a full range of policies and procedures available to staff.

Further information is in the detailed findings below.