Cornerleigh

Updated 1 June 2022

Inspection team

We carried out this inspection under Section 60 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (the Act) as part of our regulatory functions. We checked whether the provider was meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Act. We looked at the overall quality of the service and provided a rating for the service under the Health and Social Care Act 2008.

As part of this inspection we looked at the infection control and prevention measures in place. This was conducted so we can understand the preparedness of the service in preventing or managing an infection outbreak, and to identify good practice we can share with other services.

Inspection team

The inspection was carried out by two inspectors.

Service and service type

Cornerleigh is a ‘care home’. People in care homes receive accommodation and nursing or personal care as a single package under one contractual agreement. The Care Quality Commission (CQC) regulates both the premises and the care provided, and we looked at both during this inspection.

This service is required to have a registered manager. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission to manage the service. 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. At the time of our inspection there was a registered manager in post.

Notice of inspection

This inspection was unannounced.

What we did before the inspection

Before the inspection we reviewed the information we had received about the service, including previous inspection reports and notifications. Notifications are information about specific important events the service is legally required to send to us. The provider was not asked to complete a Provider Information Return (PIR) prior to this inspection. A PIR is information providers send us to give some key information about the service, what the service does well and improvements they plan to make.

We used information gathered as part of monitoring activity that took place on 16 March 2022 to help plan the inspection and inform our judgements. During the monitoring activity we spoke with seven relatives to gather feedback on the service. Following the monitoring activity, we sought feedback from external professionals involved with the service. We used all of this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection

We visited the location’s service location on 12 April 2022. We spoke to four people and six staff members, including the registered manager, the providers representative, care staff and domestic staff.

Updated 1 June 2022

About the service

Cornerleigh is a residential care home providing personal care for up to 11 people. The service provides support to people with mental health needs, physical disabilities, learning disabilities and/or Autism. At the time of our inspection there were 11 people using the service.

People’s experience of using this service and what we found

People and their relatives gave us positive feedback about their safety and told us staff treated them well. One person said, “I feel safe, the staff keep me safe.”

Risks to people's individual health and wellbeing were identified and care was planned to minimise the risks. However, we found some risks had not been recognised and further guidance was needed, so staff could support people safely. There were enough staff to support people and staff had received appropriate training to enable them to carry out their role safely.

Staff had received training in safeguarding and understood their responsibilities. People were protected from abuse and staff supported people to have regular conversations where they could express any concerns. However, one incident had not been recognised as a safeguarding concern, so action could be taken to prevent a reoccurrence.

People received support with their medicines from staff that had been trained to do so safely. Appropriate arrangements were in place for obtaining, recording, administering and disposing of prescribed medicines. However, we identified some areas for improvement, relating to repeat prescriptions and risk assessments for some medicines.

The provider had systems and processes to monitor quality within the home. However, these had not identified all the areas we found that needed improvement. The registered manager understood their regulatory responsibilities and shared information with stakeholders in a timely way.

We expect health and social care providers to guarantee autistic people and people with a learning disability the choices, dignity, independence and good access to local communities that most people take for granted. Right Support, right care, right culture is the statutory guidance which supports CQC to make assessments and judgements about services providing support to people with a learning disability and/or autistic people.

Based on our review of Safe and Well Led the service was able to demonstrate how they were meeting underpinning principles of “Right Support, Right Care, Right Culture.

Right support:

Staff used person-centred approaches to support people to reach their goals and aspirations.

Staff discussed ways of ensuring people’s goals were meaningful and spent time with people understanding their wishes and listening to what they wanted.

Right care:

People received kind and compassionate care from staff who used positive, respectful language which people understood and responded well to.

Staff were patient and used appropriate styles of interaction with people.

Staff were calm, focused and attentive to people’s emotions and support needs such as mental health needs and sensory sensitivities.

Right culture:

Management were visible in the service, approachable and took a genuine interest in what people, staff, family, advocates and other professionals had to say.

The provider and registered manager were alert to the culture within the service and spent time with staff and people discussing behaviours and values.

The registered manager worked directly with people and led by example.

There was a complaints procedure which provided information on the action to take if someone wished to make a complaint and what they should expect to happen next. The provider and registered manager welcomed suggestions on how they could develop the service and make improvements. They were responsive to areas we identified that needed improvement, so that action was taken promptly.

People, their families, staff and external professionals all told us that the registered manager was supportive, and they felt the service was well led.

For more information, please read the detailed findings section of this report. If you are reading this as a separate summary, the full report can be found on the Care Quality Commission (CQC) website at www.cqc.org.uk

Rating at last inspection:

The last rating for this service was good (published 16 November 2018).

Why we inspected

This inspection was prompted by a review of the information we held about this service.

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.

Follow up

We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service, which will help inform when we next inspect.