Archived: St Gabriel's House - Apartments

Updated 16 December 2020

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.

As part of CQC’s response to care homes with outbreaks of coronavirus, we are conducting reviews to ensure that the Infection Prevention and Control practice was safe and the service was compliant with IPC measures. This was a targeted inspection looking at the IPC practices the provider has in place.

This inspection took place on 24 November 2020 and was unannounced.

Updated 16 December 2020

About the service

St Gabriel’s House is a residential care home registered to provide accommodation and personal care for up to eight people. The service is based across two apartments, which are in the same building as a day service run by the provider. There were seven people living at the service at the time of this inspection. People had a range of learning disabilities. Some people were living with autism and some people required support with behaviours that challenged. Some of the people were living with hearing loss and used British Sign Language (BSL) to communicate.

The service is in a quiet road, close to local shops and the sea. Each apartment has large living and dining areas, a kitchen, four bedrooms and several bathrooms.

The service has been developed and designed in line with the principles and values that underpin Registering the Right Support and other best practice guidance. This ensures that people who use the service can live as full a life as possible and achieve the best possible outcomes. The principles reflect the need for people with learning disabilities and/or autism to live meaningful lives that include control, choice, and independence. People using the service receive planned and co-ordinated person-centred support that is appropriate and inclusive for them.

The building design fitted into the residential area. There were deliberately no identifying signs, intercom, cameras, industrial bins or anything else outside to indicate it was a care home. Staff were also discouraged from wearing anything that suggested they were care staff when coming and going with people.

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

People were happy and fulfilled living at St Gabriel’s House. Staff focused on people’s health and emotional wellbeing and ensured their needs were met. There was a person-centred and enabling culture at the service, which people and staff were positive about. People’s privacy and dignity was promoted.

Communication needs were clearly understood and ensured people were involved in all aspects of their care. Risks had been assessed and measures needed to positively manage these were embedded into daily practice. People were supported to develop daily living skills, independence and to achieve their goals. People were part of their local communities.

People were supported to understand their choices and had control of their life. They were supported to maintain and develop friendships through visits and technology such as video calls. There were enough staff to support people. People felt safe and were protected from abuse and avoidable harm.

Needs were fully assessed and people received the care they needed to achieve the best quality of life. Staff were experienced and competent and felt well supported by the registered manager. Where they wanted to be, people were involved with menu planning, shopping and meal preparations. People were supported to maintain their health and well-being.

Medicines were stored and managed safely. There were policies and procedures in place for safe administration of medicines. People received their medicines when they needed them from staff who had been trained and had their competency checked.

There was an extremely positive, open culture within the service, the registered manager provided strong leadership and led by example. They had a clear vision and strong values about how people were supported, which was echoed by all the staff we spoke with. Staff were proud to work for the service and felt they were an active part of an organisation where they mattered, people mattered and all voices were equal. People, relatives and staff were all engaged with the service and asked for their views.

Governance systems were well-embedded and there were effective assurance systems that ensured self-compliance. The registered manager proactively monitored the quality of the service. They reviewed risk management plans, training for staff and measured the quality of service delivered.

The registered manager positively influenced good practice in the care and support people with a learning disability and autism received by engaging with other providers to share good practice.

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.

The service applied the principles and values of Registering the Right Support and other best practice guidance. These ensure that people who use the service can live as full a life as possible and achieve the best possible outcomes that include control, choice and independence. The outcomes for people using the service reflected the principles and values of Registering the Right Support by promoting choice and control, independence and inclusion. People's support focused on them having as many opportunities as possible for them to gain new skills and become more independent.

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

Rating at last inspection

The last rating for this service was Good (published 15 March 2017).

Why we inspected

This was a planned inspection based on the previous rating.

Follow up

We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service until we return to visit as per our re-inspection programme. If we receive any concerning information we may inspect sooner.