Brook of Life Care Limited

We have 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.

The service was first registered with the Care Quality Commission (CQC) on 16 October 2020. We carried out this inspection because the service had not yet been rated. This inspection was carried out by one inspector. We gave the provider 48 hours’ notice of our inspection. This was because it is a small care provider, and we needed to ensure the registered manager would be available to meet with the inspector at the provider’s office.

At the time of this inspection, 5 people received support from this provider. However, only 4 people received the regulated activity of personal care. We therefore only reviewed the specific care provided to those 4 people, but we did inspect the general staffing, and management arrangements in place.

The provider had a good learning culture and people could raise concerns. Managers investigated incidents thoroughly. Staff understood and managed risks well. There were enough staff with the right skills, knowledge, and experience. Staff received regular and relevant training. Staff understood their roles and responsibilities. Staff managed people’s prescribed medicines well.

People decided how they individually received care. People’s person-centred care plans and risk assessments took account of their individual communication needs as well as their personal care and health care needs. Staff monitored people’s health to encourage healthy living. Staff made sure people understood their care and treatment to enable them to give informed consent. Staff ensured an appropriate best interest decision making process was followed where people did not have the capacity to make decisions for themselves.

People were treated with kindness and compassion. Staff protected their privacy and dignity. They treated them as individuals and supported their preferences. The provider supported staff well being.

The registered manager and staff had a shared vision and culture based on listening, learning, and trust. The registered manager was knowledgeable and supportive, helping staff develop in their roles. They treated staff fairly and respected their well being. The registered manager collaborated with the community healthcare teams to ensure people received consistent and effective healthcare support.There was a culture of continuous improvement and of learning lessons from incidents to help reduce re-occurrences.