St Patrick's House

We assessed the service against ‘Right support, right care, right culture’ guidance to make judgements about whether the provider guaranteed people with a learning disability and autistic people respect, equality, dignity, choices, independence and good access to local communities that most people take for granted. We found people received care and support in accordance with the principles of this guidance.

Since our last assessment there had been a change in registered manager. The current registered manager had been registered at the service for 3 years and had made improvements which meant safe and well-led were now rated good.

People, relatives and staff told us the service was consistently well-led and management were approachable and experienced. The culture at the service had improved with people now being able to access their local community and take part in activities they liked to do. People were being supported to maintain their independence.

Staff pre-employment checks had been completed, and new staff had a good induction. Training was provided in a range of topics which included moving and handling, first aid and communication methods. Staff had regular supervision and were provided with handovers and team meetings. Staff worked together well and said they were well supported by both the management at the service and the provider.

The service was clean and there were weekly infection prevention and control audits. Staff were provided with training on infection prevention and control and food hygiene. Staff were carrying out regular health and safety checks. The provider had systems to make sure facilities and equipment were serviced in a timely way.

Medicines were safely managed. Staff had training on administering medicines and had their competence checked annually. People were able to see healthcare professionals when needed and the local GP was a regular visitor.

Governance was effective and identifying areas to improve. Regular audits were being completed to monitor quality and safety. The provider regularly asked people, relatives and staff for feedback and results were shared with the service and nationally. The registered manager shared results with people, relatives and staff and produces an action plan for any areas of development. Incidents were recorded with actions taken to immediately support people. The service had systems to make sure incidents were reviewed, staff were de-briefed, and action taken to prevent recurrence. Statutory notifications were being submitted to Care Quality Commission (CQC) in a timely way.