The Old Rectory

Updated 13 April 2021

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 17 March 2021 and was announced.

Updated 13 April 2021

The Old Rectory provides care for up to 16 people with learning disabilities, who may also live with an attached diagnosis such as autism, Down's Syndrome, diabetes or epilepsy. There are two properties set within large grounds, one accommodating up to 13 people and the other up to three people. There were 15 people living at The Old Rectory at the time of the inspection. The ages of people who lived in the Old Rectory currently ranged from 30 years up to 75 years old.

The service was registered before Registering the Right Support policy was introduced. The service has been further developed 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.

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

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.

People received safe care and support by staff who had been appropriately recruited, trained to recognise signs of abuse or risk and understood what to do to safely support people. One person said, “It’s my home and I feel safe.” People were supported to take positive risks, to ensure they had as much choice and control of their lives as possible. We saw that people were supported to be as independent as possible with the use of walking aids and access to mobility cars to go out when they wished to. Medicines were given safely to people by trained and knowledgeable staff, who had been assessed as competent. There were enough staff to meet people's needs. The provider used a dependency tool to determine staffing levels. Staffing levels were regularly reviewed to meet peoples’ individual needs and to ensure they can access the community and hospital appointments. Safe recruitment practices had been followed before staff started working at the service.

Staff had all received training to meet people’s specific needs. During induction, they got to know people and their needs well. One staff member said, “It’s really lovely here, everyone works as a team to make sure we support people in the safest and best way. We got lots of training to do this.” People’s nutritional and health needs were consistently met with involvement from a variety of health and social care professionals.

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.

People were relaxed, comfortable and happy in the company of staff. People’s independence was considered important by all staff and their privacy and dignity was promoted.

Staff were committed to delivering care in a person-centred way based on people's preferences and wishes.

There was a stable staff team who were knowledgeable about the people they supported and had built

trusting and meaningful relationships with them. Activities were tailor-made to people’s preferences and interests. People were encouraged to go out and form relationships with family and members of the community. Staff knew people’s communication needs well and we observed them using a variety of tools, such as sign language, pictures and objects of reference, to gain their views.

People were involved in their care planning. End of life care planning and documentation guided staff in providing care at this important stage of people’s lives.

People, their relatives and health care professionals had the opportunity to share their views about the service. Complaints made by people or their relatives were taken seriously and thoroughly investigated. The provider and registered manager were committed to continuously improve, and had developed structures and plans to develop and consistently drive improvement within the service and maintain their care delivery to a good standard.

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 Requires Improvement (published 22 January 2019).

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.