Northenden House

Updated 5 May 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

The inspection was carried out by 1 inspector.

Service and service type

Northenden House is a 'care home'. People in care homes receive accommodation and nursing or personal care as a single package under one contractual agreement. 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 a registered manager in post.

Notice of inspection

This inspection was unannounced.

Inspection activity started on 30 March 2023 and ended on 31 March 2023. We visited the location’s service on 30 March 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. We looked at notifications we had received for this service. Notifications are information about important events the service is required to send us by law. 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 of this information to plan our inspection

During the inspection

We observed the care and support provided to people in the communal areas across different parts of the day, including mealtimes and during activities. We spoke with 7 staff members. This included the nominated individual, the head of nursing, 1 nurse, 1 senior support worker and 3 support workers. The nominated individual is responsible for supervising the management of the service on behalf of the provider

We reviewed a range of records. This included 2 people's care and 4 medicines records and 2 staff files in relation to recruitment. We also reviewed records related to the management of the service, which included incident and accident reports, compliments and complaints, quality assurance audits, minutes of staff, provider and resident meetings and a range of health and safety records. We also observed a medication round and reviewed medication records.

Updated 5 May 2023

About the service

Northenden House is a care home and provides accommodation and personal care for up to 6 people who have a range of needs including autism, mental health needs and/or learning disabilities. There were 4 people using the service at the time of this inspection

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

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.

Right Support

Individuals independence was promoted at the service and staff encouraged individuals to make choices around their care and activities. Care plans were routinely reviewed and updated and reflected the care given to people at the service. Risks were appropriately identified and risk assessments were robust and showed ways to manage and mitigate risks. People were supported to take part in meaningful activities including having access to the community, this included trips to the park, the shop and a farm. The staff team knew individuals needs well and told us they knew individuals triggers and are able to reduce risks through positive behaviour support.

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

People received kind and person-centred care. Staff responded to individuals needs well and supported them appropriately. People had access to nursing staff 24 hours a day and the service worked well with external health care professionals when needed. Medicine management at the service was safe and oversight was clear.

Right Culture

People received good quality care from the service and the service knew individuals well and responded well to them. Individuals were involved in the service delivery and also planning of their care. The service had developed “success” plans which showed individual journeys at the service and marked achievements. The service engaged those who lived and worked at the service and acted on feedback.

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

Rating at last inspection and update

The last rating for this service was requires improvement (published 27 May 2022).

The provider completed an action plan after the last inspection to show what they would do and by when to improve.

At this inspection we found improvements had been made and the provider was no longer in breach of regulations.

Why we inspected

We carried out an unannounced inspection of this service on 15 March 2022. A breach of legal requirements was found. The provider completed an action plan after the last inspection to show what they would do and by when to improve good governance.

We undertook this focused inspection to check they had followed their action plan and to confirm they now met legal requirements. This report only covers our findings in relation to the Key Questions Safe and Well-led which contain those requirements

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.

For those key questions not inspected, we used the ratings awarded at the last inspection to calculate the overall rating.

The overall rating for the service has changed from requires improvement to good based on the findings of this inspection.

You can read the report from our last comprehensive inspection, by selecting the ‘all reports’ link for Northenden House on our website at www.cqc.org.uk.

Follow up

We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service, which will help inform when we next inspect.