Whitegates & The Cottage

This service was able to demonstrate how they were meeting the underpinning principles of Right support, right care, right culture. The culture in the home was not risk adverse. People were supported to take positive risks and the service was passionate about promoting people's independence.

The provider's vision and values focused on person-centeredness, being passionate about making a difference to people's lives and ensuring positive outcomes for people. Care was person-centred and promoted people's choice, independence, dignity and privacy. We observed that staff understood and cared for people in a manner that was in keeping with these principles of right support, right care and right culture.

There were appropriate policies and systems in place to protect people from abuse and there were robust processes in place for investigating any safeguarding incidents that had occurred. Staff consistently told us they were confident that concerns would be responded to appropriately. We observed staff were appropriately deployed during the inspection and relatives and staff confirmed there was sufficient staffing in place. Medicines were administered safely by staff who knew people well. Systems were in place to ensure people's medicines were managed safely.

We were assured that the provider was preventing visitors from catching and spreading infections and we were assured that the provider was making sure infection outbreaks can be effectively prevented or managed. The provider had utilised different communication methods to support people to maintain contact with their relatives and friends throughout the pandemic.

Relatives and staff were positive about the service and the management team. Staff had access to policies and procedures which encouraged an open and transparent approach. The COVID-19 pandemic had placed additional pressures on the service, and we saw, and were told, about how the service had adapted to support people to be safe. People's emotional wellbeing had been a priority for the provider and people had been supported in a person-centred way to manage the impact of the pandemic. The provider had quality

assurance procedures to help drive ongoing improvements within the service and had developed close links with external agencies to ensure best outcomes for people.