Crumble Cottage

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. This service was able to demonstrate how they were meeting the underpinning principles of ‘Right support, right care, right culture.’ People lived in a family home which integrated well in the community, and they had access to community amenities such as shops and had good access to transport links. People received person-centred care from staff who promoted people’s dignity and privacy. The values, attitudes and behaviours of leaders and care staff ensured people using the service were leading confident, inclusive and empowered lives.

People’s needs were assessed and kept under review to ensure they received the most appropriate support. People had access to healthcare professionals and staff ensured their guidance was followed. Staff received training and support to carry out their roles well. We found some application forms did not always contain sufficient pre-employment information. The registered manager took action to resolve these issues.

The home was clean and was in the process of being decorated. However, we found some concerns regarding the environment. Some windows were without window restrictors and radiators did not have covers to reduce the risk of burns for people who were not temperature aware. The registered manager took timely action to address these concerns.

Leaders and staff were inclusive and shared knowledge and understanding to enable them to support people to live full and active lives. Systems and processes in place to ensure good governance were not always effective. We identified issues with the environment which had not previously been identified or addressed. There was a positive culture in the service where staff were keen to support people to meet their goals and leaders were keen to support staff in an open and transparent way.