Meadow Acres

Meadow Acres is a care home providing personal care to people. The service provides support to people with a learning disability and autistic people. At the time of our inspection there were 8 people living there.

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 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. We considered this guidance as there were people using the service who have a learning disability and/or who are autistic. The service did not meet this guidance.

We found elements of care which were unsafe. There were concerns around risk management, restrictive practices and good governance. These issues posed risks to people's safety and wellbeing and required urgent attention.

Inconsistencies in care delivery were also evident. People were not always treated as individuals, and there were disparities in how communication, independence, and meaningful activity were supported. Care plans were detailed in the most part however did not consistently reflect people's goals, preferences, or aspirations. This limited people's ability to be involved in decisions about their care and reduced opportunities for promoting autonomy and wellbeing.

The application of the Mental Capacity Act was in place. Staff were not all equipped to communicate effectively with people, and in some cases, missed opportunities to engage meaningfully.

Feedback from relatives was positive. They felt their loved ones were safe and well cared for. The provider had begun to take steps to improve care plans and risk assessments. A review process had been introduced to support better monitoring and promote a culture of safety and openness.

Internal audits had not identified key areas requiring attention, however upon raising the required actions the registered manager took immediate action. There was a clear commitment from the new leadership to raise standards and deliver more consistent, person-centred care. Continued focus on staff deployment, communication, personalised support, and robust governance will be essential to achieving and maintaining high-quality outcomes for people using the service.

We found a breach in regulations for safe care and treatment, person centred care, dignity and respect and good governance. The provider did not ensure people were supported in the least restrictive way ensuring that the environment met fire safety, people did not always have the choice and control of the daily life. The provider’s governance systems were not always robust to identify areas of improvement.

We will meet with the provider following this report being published to discuss how they will make changes to ensure they improve their rating to at least good. We will work with the local authority to monitor.

In instances where CQC have decided to take civil or criminal enforcement action against a provider, we will publish this information on our website after any representations and/ or appeals have been concluded.