About the service Gainford House provides personal care to people living in their own apartment on a purpose built site in Hartlepool. At the time of our inspection there were 10 people living with a learning disability and/or a mental health related condition receiving a regulated activity from the service.
Not everyone using Gainford House receives a regulated activity; CQC only inspects the service being received by people provided with ‘personal care’ which includes help with washing, dressing and eating.
People’s experience of using this service and what we found
People were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives. Staff supported people in the least restrictive way possible and in their best interests. .
People were safeguarded from the risks of abuse by staff who were trained in safeguarding and were able to raise concerns. People’s personal risks were well managed. Medicines were managed in a safe manner. Staff supported people to keep their apartments and communal areas clean.
Staffing was provided by a well trained and supported team that met the needs of people using the service. Recruitment procedures were robust.
Records relating to people's support were in a period of transition to a new format but they clearly stated how people wished their support to be provided.
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.
The service was able to demonstrate how they were meeting the underpinning principles of Right support, right care, right culture in some of the individual supported living services.
Right support:
• People we spoke with told us they were enabled to learn new skills by staff who motivated and supported them.
• Professionals and relatives we spoke with told us they were very happy with the support provided. One relative told us, "[Name] has come on leaps and bounds, [Name] is a different person now."
Right Care
• People were given choices by staff and were supported to pursue their individual likes and interests. People were treated with dignity and respect.
• People told us they were helped and encouraged to maintain relationships that were important to them, whether this was friends, family or other professionals or services that supported them.
Right culture:
• The registered manager of the service demonstrated they had the right values and ethos to lead a supported living service. They were enabled to do this with a robust system of audits and quality checks.
• People and staff we spoke with said that managers were always available, were supportive and listened to them.
Based on our review of the key questions of safe, effective, caring, responsive and well-led, the service was able to demonstrate how they were meeting the underpinning principles of Right support, right care, right culture.
For more details, please see the full report which is on the CQC website at www.cqc.org.uk
Rating at last inspection
This service was registered with us on 24/05/2019 and this is the first inspection.
Why we inspected
We carried out a comprehensive inspection to give this service a rating.
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 until we return to visit as per our re-inspection programme. If we receive any concerning information we may inspect sooner.