Ellershaw House Limited

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.

The service was able to demonstrate how they were meeting the underpinning principles of 'Right support, right care, right culture'

Right 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.

Staff were safely recruited in line with the provider's policy and legislative requirements. Enough suitably skilled staff were employed to spend quality time with people to develop skills and promote independence. Staff received supervision and appraisal along with spot checks recorded to maintain best practice.

People received initial assessments of their needs with care plans in place to manage known risks. Care planning was moving from paper to electronic records. Regular reviews ensured information remained relevant and up to date as an accessible point of reference for staff. People's care plans and risk assessments reflected their needs and preferences, and staff were knowledgeable about the level of support people required to keep them safe.

Right care: Care was person-centred and promoted people's dignity, privacy, and human rights; Staff were respectful, caring and understanding around people's emotional and physical needs.

People were involved in planning their care and support. Care was delivered following a robust assessment of needs to ensure people's wishes, preferences and any personal characteristics were recorded and

supported. Regular reviews with people ensured adjustments were made to meet people's changing needs and aspirations.

Where people received support to take their medicines this was done safely. Medicines management and administration followed best practice guidance. Where medicines were prescribed as part of behaviour support planning, professional health reviews ensured reliance on these medicines was monitored and reduced to support people to stay well and have a good quality of life.

Right culture: The ethos, values, attitudes and behaviours of leaders and care staff ensured people using services led confident, inclusive, and empowered lives; The culture of the service was open and empowered individuals to express their views and be in control of their lives with the support of staff. People felt confident to approach staff and management, indicative of a family environment and their suggestions were listened to and acted on.

A range of quality assurance checks including regular audits were completed to manage and improve the service and to maintain compliance with required regulations. The provider was in the process of implementing new electronic recording. This would benefit from improved management planning to ensure a smooth transition within achievable time scales.

Staff followed latest guidance to maintain effective infection prevention and control and had good access to any required protective equipment which helped to reduce the spread of any infections. Where we identified some areas of the home required maintenance, this was proactively completed during the inspection.