Archived: Nimrod House Registered Care

Updated 24 March 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 21 February 2018 and was unannounced. The inspection was carried out by two inspectors.

Prior to our inspection, we reviewed information we held about the service, including notifications sent to us at the Care Quality Commission. A notification is information about important events which the service is required to send us by law. Due to technical problems, the provider was not able to complete a Provider Information Return. This is information we require providers to send us at least once annually to give some key information about the service, what the service does well and improvements they plan to make. We took this into account when we inspected the service and made the judgements in this report. We contacted the local authority about their views of the quality of care delivered by the service.

During our visit to the office we spoke with one person using the service, one relative, the registered manager, a team leader and one of the care staff. We looked at two care plans and six staff personnel files including recruitment, training and supervision records, and staff rotas. We also reviewed the service's accidents and incidents, safeguarding and complaints records, care delivery records and medicines administration records for people using the service.

Following our inspection visit, we reviewed documents provided to us after the inspection. These included policies and procedures, staff and residents meeting minutes, training matrix, care plans and risk management plans, activity plans, the manager’s quality audit and incidents analysis.

Updated 24 March 2018

The inspection took place on 21 February 2018 and was an unannounced inspection. This was the first inspection of Nimrod House Registered care since its registration on 11 April 2016.

Nimrod House Registered Care is registered to provide accommodation and personal care for up to three adults with learning disabilities and autistic spectrum disorder. Nimrod House Registered Care is a building containing five one bedroom flats. The provider has two registered locations at the address. Up to three of the flats can be used to provide registered care, and the remaining are supported living flats for adults with learning disabilities. This inspection related only to the registered care aspects of the service. At the time of our inspection two people were living at the service. People using the service lived in one bedroom flats with a living room, kitchen, bedroom and a bathroom. They shared garden space with other people using the service.

Nimrod House Registered Care is a ‘care home’. People in care homes receive accommodation and nursing or personal care as single package under one contractual agreement. CQC regulates both the premises and the care provided, and both were looked at during this inspection.

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.

The provider had systems to ensure people were safeguarded against avoidable harm. A person and a relative told us staff were trustworthy and they felt safe with them. Staff knew how to identify and report abuse and poor care. Risks to people were identified, assessed and mitigated. People’s risk assessments were regularly reviewed and provided guidance to staff on how to support people safely. Staff were appropriately recruited and vetted before they started working with people. There were enough staff in place to meet people’s individual needs. People’s medicines needs were met safely. The provider met infection control requirements and there was no malodour in the flats we visited. The registered manager learnt lessons from complaints, safeguarding and accidents and incidents, and shared the learning with the staff team via staff meetings.

Staff received comprehensive induction, regular training and supervision to provide effective care. People’s nutrition and hydration needs were met. Staff assisted people in accessing ongoing healthcare support. 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 gave people choices and understood the importance of seeking permission before providing care.

Staff were trained in equality and diversity, and people told us staff treated them with dignity and respect. People were supported with their cultural and religious needs. People’s care plans gave information on their likes, dislikes and cultural and religious preferences.

The provider maintained clear complaints processes and encouraged people and their relatives to raise concerns. The provider’s end of life policy informed staff on how to support people with their end of life care wishes.

People, their relatives and staff told us they found the registered manager approachable. Staff told us they felt well supported by the registered manager. The provider involved people, their relatives, healthcare professionals and staff in improving the service. The provider conducted regular monitoring checks and audits to ensure the safety and quality of the service.