25 February 2020
During a routine inspection
Penny Meadow is a residential care home, which provides short-term respite overnight accommodation and personal care for up to two people who have a learning disability or autistic spectrum disorder at a time. It operates between the hours of 4pm and 10am the following day.
The provider had a day centre close to the respite home which people accessed. However, this report only relates to the provider's provision of residential respite care. The day centre services fall outside the regulatory remit of the Care Quality Commission (CQC) and were not assessed as part of this inspection
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.
People’s experience of using this service and what we found.
People were treated with kindness and compassion by the staff and had their privacy and dignity respected. Systems within the home supported people to be involved with decisions about their care and support as much as possible.
People and relatives described positive relationships with the staff and management team. People were encouraged and enabled to pursue their hobbies, participate in activities of their choice and to access the community. Staff practice promoted people's rights and independence.
Safe care and support were provided to people. Staff were aware of risks to people’s safety and knew how to respond appropriately through safeguarding processes. Where required people were supported to access healthcare services and appropriate referrals were made. Staff supported people with their nutritional needs and to maintain their health. The home was clean and hygienic throughout and safe management of medicines was in place.
People were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff supported them in the least restrictive way possible.
Care was tailored to the person who received the support and care plans were detailed and comprehensive. People received effective personal care and support from staff who knew them well and were well trained and regularly supervised. There were enough staff who had been recruited safely to meet people’s needs.
A complaints process was in place with feedback welcomed and acted on. Regular checks and audits were carried out to monitor the quality of care people received and to provide management with necessary oversight of the home.
Rating at last inspection
This is the first inspection for this service.
The previous provider of Penny Meadow was Penny Meadow Life Skills Limited. On 5 April 2019, Care Management Group Limited took over as the new registered provider of Penny Meadow.
Why we inspected
This was a planned inspection following registration on 5 April 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.
For more details, please see the full report which is on the CQC website at www.cqc.org.uk