Welcome House - Gillingham Homes

Updated 17 September 2022

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

The inspection was undertaken by one inspector.

Service and service type

Welcome House – Gillingham Homes 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. Welcome House – Gillingham Homes 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 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. Inspection activity started on 30 August 2022 and ended on 6 September 2022. We visited the location’s service on 30 August 2022.

What we did before the inspection

We reviewed information we had received about the service since the last inspection. We used the information the provider sent us in the provider information return (PIR). This is information providers are required to send us annually with key information about their service, what they do well, and improvements they plan to make. We used all this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection

We spoke with three people and one person’s relative about their experience of the support provided. We spoke with two support workers and the registered manager. We spoke with one social care professional who has regular contact with the service. We reviewed a range of records including three people’s care records and medication records. We looked at two staff files in relation to recruitment and staff supervision. A variety of records relating to the management of the service, including policies and procedures were reviewed.

Updated 17 September 2022

About the service

Welcome House – Gillingham Homes is a residential care home providing personal care to up to 10 people. The service consists of three houses in a residential street. The service provides support to people living with mental health conditions, such as, obsessive compulsive disorder and schizophrenia. At the time of our inspection there were three people living at the service.

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

People told us they felt safe at the service. We observed people were relaxed and spoke openly with staff and the registered manager. Staff understood their responsibilities to safeguard people from the risk of abuse and knew how to report concerns. One staff member told us, “If I needed to go outside the company I can go to social services and the police. I would make a file note and put in the care notes and raise a safeguarding.”

People were supported to live independent lives, and staff empowered people to take positive risks, such as going on holiday and to manage their own medicines. Staff were recruited safely and received relevant training to their role. Staff demonstrated skills to support people and treated them respectfully.

People's needs were assessed and frequently reviewed. Staff encouraged people to follow a healthy diet that catered to their tastes, and people were enabled to prepare their own meals. People told us they chose the menu together. The registered manager used mealtimes as an opportunity to gather people’s views and feedback in a relaxed manner as well as a social event.

People were supported by caring staff, and we saw people and staff interacting positively during the inspection. People were happy with talk to us and tell us about the service and the support they received. One person told us, “[Registered manager] is lovely, they are very helpful. All three of us are grateful to [registered manager]. We need prompting and helping. We are looked after properly.”

People were supported to be independent, and to maintain relationships with friends and family. This was achieved by going out to meet their loved ones, or contact by phone and video technology. People were enabled to go out as they wished, this included attending groups, classes and coffee mornings.

People and their relatives were encouraged to feedback on the service, staff were available to assist them as needed. One person told us, “The staff are here if we have a query or question or if I need advice. They are quite helpful.”

The service was led by a committed registered manager and team who were proud to work at the service. The registered manager told us, “I think we are a lovely service; we are good, we are proactive to service users’ needs, we interact great, we are caring and understanding.” People were actively involved in the running of the service and their voices were listened to. People were able to access healthcare when they needed it.

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.

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. We considered this guidance as there were people using the service who have a learning disability and or who are autistic.

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 29 September 2017).

Why we inspected

This inspection was prompted by a review of the information we held about the service. As a result, we undertook a comprehensive inspection to review all key questions.

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.