Archived: Home Farm

Home Farm is a small care home for up to five people with a learning disability and complex support needs. It is run by West House, a not for profit organisation which provides a range of services to people with learning disabilities in the Cumbria area. The accommodation consists of a large converted farmhouse located in the large village of Camerton on the outskirts of the town of Workington.

The service had a registered manager. 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.

The management team and the provider were quite clear that the service was not meeting the needs of the people who used it. This was because people who used the service were incompatible due to differing needs. The provider had taken steps to decommission the service and ensure that the people who used it were found appropriate accommodation. The registered manager and the operational manager had a clear idea about the future of the people who used the service.

Risk assessments were carried out and plans put in place to reduce risks to people’ safety and welfare. Support plans were easy to read and based on assessment and reflected the needs of people.

Staff working in the service were aware of different types of abuse and knew how to report it. The service had clear policies relating to safeguarding. Staff had received appropriate training and knew how to support people.

People received support with their medicines from appropriately trained staff.

The service assessed people’s nutritional and hydration needs and provided support accordingly.

Staff had developed good relationships with people and communicated in a warm and caring manner. They were aware of how to treat people with dignity and respect. Policies were in place that outlined acceptable standards in this area.

There was a complaints procedure in place that outlined how to make a complaint and how long it would take to deal with.

We made a recommendation that the service reviewed how it prevented and managed violence and aggression.

People told us that they felt that their needs were being met by the staff working at Home Farm. One person told us, 'Staff help me to go out. They know me well and stop me worrying.'

People told us that staff treated them well and they liked spending time talking with staff and going out with them. People were accessing the local community well and were helped to go out to places of their choice or to where they gained enjoyment from.

We found that the building required improvement both in the decoration and in the facilities it offered to people in order to meet their needs. We saw plans for this to take place shortly, and this included improving the facilities in the "quiet room".

We saw the home involved other services to ensure people received timely healthcare to maintain their health and wellbeing.

We found that records in the home were well kept being up to date and reviewed on a regular basis.

We observed staff interacting with people in ways that demonstrated that they were skilled and trained to support people with behaviours that may be challenging. People were being supported in a sensitive and dignified manner.

Staff reported that they had received high levels of training to support people to lead a good quality of life. They had enabled people in the home to take part in numerous community activities and to go on holidays. For some people in the home we were told that this had not been possible at other placements or homes they had previously lived in.

A noticeable feature of the home was how well staff had developed links with social and healthcare professionals to seek expert advice. Staff working as part of a multi-disciplinary team ensured that support offered to people was individual and targeted to each person's specific needs.