The Apuldram Centre

At the time of our assessment 14 people were receiving the regulated activity of personal care, not everyone who used the service received personal care. CQC only inspects where people receive personal care. This is help with tasks, amongst others, related to personal hygiene and eating. Where they do, we also consider any wider social care provided.
The assessment focused on the provider’s delivery of personal care to people with learning disabilities and autistic people in line with Right Care, Right Support, Right Culture. Right support, right care, right culture’ is the guidance CQC follows to make assessments and judgements about services supporting people with a learning disability and autistic people and providers must have regard to it.
Apart from the issues relating to some of the legacy tenancies, the service demonstrated care and support that aligned with the principles of Right Care, Right Support and Right Culture. People experienced support that promoted independence, choice and control. Staff understood people’s communication needs and used approaches such as Makaton, a type of sign language, to enable people to express themselves. We saw people using communication boards, a visual aid to understanding in use.
Risks were managed in a way that balanced safety with autonomy, and staff encouraged people to engage in meaningful activities that reflected their preferences.
Across the key questions, the service continued to provide good care. People were protected from avoidable harm, received effective support based on up-to-date guidance, and were treated with kindness, dignity and respect. Support was person-centred, with care plans reflecting people's needs, strengths and aspirations.
Leadership and governance were generally effective, with a culture of openness and learning evident. Audits and oversight systems were in place and continued to develop, and leaders were visible and supportive. Staff felt able to speak up and reported feeling valued and well supported through training, supervision and team meetings.
The provider had taken steps to strengthen documentation, improve detail within digital support records and ensure ongoing learning from incidents and audits. Where improvements were identified, leaders acted promptly to embed changes.