Byron Court

Updated 16 August 2023

The inspection

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

This inspection was carried out by 1 inspector.

Service and service type

Byron Court is a ‘care home’. People in care homes receive accommodation and nursing and/or personal care as a single package under one contractual agreement dependent on their registration with us. Byron Court is a care home without nursing care. CQC regulates both the premises and the care provided, and both were looked at during this inspection.

Registered Manager

This provider is required to have a registered manager to oversee the delivery of regulated activities at this location. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission to manage the service. Registered managers and providers are legally responsible for how the service is run, for the quality and safety of the care provided and compliance with regulations.

At the time of our inspection there was not a registered manager in post. However, a new manager had been in post for 1 month and had submitted an application to register. We are currently assessing this application.

Notice of inspection

This inspection was unannounced.

Inspection activity started on 26 July 2023 and ended on 2 August 2023 when we spoke with relatives by telephone. We visited the service on 26 July 2023.

What we did before the inspection

We reviewed information we had received about the service since the last inspection. We sought feedback from the local authority and professionals who work with the service. 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 contacted Healthwatch for information they held about the service on their database. Healthwatch is an independent consumer champion that gathers and represents the views of the public about health and social care services in England. We used all this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection

We spoke with the nominated individual, the manager, 3 staff members, 2 people using the service, 1 relative and a visiting health professional. The nominated individual is responsible for supervising the management of the service on behalf of the provider.

We reviewed 2 peoples’ care plans and risk assessments, incident and accident documentation, staff training records, rotas, and recruitment records, medicines management documents, policy and quality monitoring records.

After the inspection

We continued to review and validate evidence obtained from the inspection.

Updated 16 August 2023

About the service

Byron Court is a residential care home providing personal care and support, registered for up to a maximum of 2 people. The service provides support to people living with learning disabilities, mental health and Autistic people. At the time of our inspection there were 2 people using the service.

Not everyone who used the service received personal care. CQC only inspects where people receive personal care. This is help with tasks related to personal hygiene and eating. Where they do we also consider any wider social care support provided.

Byron Court accommodates 2 people in 1 adapted building. Each person lived in their own individual separate flat, with their own kitchen, bathroom, lounge and bedroom area. Each person had access to a garden space. Staff and visitors made use of a central, communal space which housed an office, kitchenette, bathroom and central lobby.

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: Model of Care and setting that maximises people’s choice, control and independence. The service supported people to have the maximum possible choice, control and independence and they had control over their own lives.

The service worked with people to plan for when they experienced periods of distress so that their freedoms were restricted only if there was no alternative.

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: Care is person-centred and promotes people’s dignity, privacy and human rights. People received kind and compassionate care.

Staff protected and respected people’s privacy and dignity. Staff understood people and responded to their individual needs.

The service had enough appropriately skilled staff to meet people’s needs and keep them safe.

People’s care, treatment and support plans reflected their range of needs and this promoted their wellbeing and enjoyment of life.

Right Culture: The ethos, values, attitudes and behaviours of leaders and care staff ensure people using services lead confident, inclusive and empowered lives. Staff knew and understood people well and were responsive, supporting their aspirations to live a quality life of their choosing.

People received good quality care, support and treatment because knowledgeable, trained staff could meet their needs and wishes.

People and those important to them, including professionals, were involved in planning their care.

For more details, please see the full report which is on the CQC website at www.cqc.org.uk

This service was registered with us on 16 September 2022 and this is the first inspection.

Why we inspected

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

The inspection was prompted in part due to concerns received about supporting people experiencing periods of distress and staffing. A decision was made for us to inspect and examine those risks.

We found no evidence during this inspection that people were at risk of harm from these concerns. Please see the Safe, Effective and Well Led sections of this full report.

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.