South Street

This assessment was carried out to follow up on enforcement action we took after the last inspection. At the previous assessment the provider was found to be in breach of legal regulations relating to safe care and treatment and good governance. At this inspection the provider remained in breach of those regulations and additional breaches of regulations were identified relating to safeguarding adults from abuse and safe staffing.

We assessed the service against ‘Right support, right care, right culture’. This guidance supported judgements about whether the provider guaranteed people with a learning disability and autistic people respect, equality, dignity, choice, independence and access to local communities that most people take for granted. We found the provider was not providing care and support which met with the principles of this guidance.

We continued to find serious concerns with regards to people’s safety. Risks were not always safely managed, and people were exposed to the risk of harm. Staff were not always following risk assessments to keep people safe and care plans were not always accurate or up to date. Health professional advice was not always followed and there were risks to people’s safety from the care environment.

There were continued concerns with the ineffective oversight of the service and poor management which meant risks related to the service were not identified and effectively managed through these systems. People were not supported by sufficient staff to meet their needs and preferences. Systems in place to identify abuse, manage medicines and review peoples care needs were ineffective.

People were not consistently treated with kindness and compassion and were not fully engaged in making choices. People were not always asked for consent to their care. Staff could not always provide care which was person-centred and gave people equity in access and outcomes due to the staffing levels in the home. People were not consistently supported to access the community.

However, staff have access to evidence-based tools to aid assessment and support planning outcomes are considered and goals set for people to achieve. People had individual care plans in place and this took account of their individual preferences, choice and independence. Bedrooms were personalized and people had individual communication plans in place to support them to communicate their needs.

This service is being placed in special measures. The purpose of special measures is to ensure that services providing inadequate care make significant improvements. Special measures provide a framework within which we user our enforcement powers in response to inadequate care and provide a timeframe within which providers must improve the quality of the care they provide.

In instances where CQC has begun a process of regulatory action, we may publish this information on our website after any representations and/or appeals have been concluded, if the action has been taken forward.