What life is like for people using this service:

People who lived in the home and relatives felt confident in the management team and how the service operated. Staff were deployed to ensure they afforded people responsive and dignified support. Staffing levels were suitable for the needs of people and staff we spoke with confirmed this. This enabled people to maintain continuity of care and provided support for people to follow their choices in day to day living and the local community.

The management team had safe recruitment procedures to ensure staff were suitable to work with vulnerable adults. However, no new staff had been recruited since the registration of Hipswell Highway.

Staff responsible for assisting people with their medicines had received training to ensure they had the competency and skills required.

Risk assessments provided instructions for staff members when they delivered care for people supported within the home and when out in the community.

Care records we looked at were detailed and personalised to the person’s needs and wishes. There was evidence of a multi-disciplinary approach to create a detailed plan so that people who lived in the home had support from health and social care professionals.

People who lived at Hipswell Highway were treated with respect by caring staff. This was confirmed by people we spoke with who lived there and a relative. One person commented, “[Staff member] helps me get ready in my room when I am going out. They are so kind.”

People were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff supported them in the least restrictive way possible. The policies and systems in the service supported this practice. We discussed the principles of the MCA and consent with staff and found they had a good awareness.

We found the registered manager and the organisation had systems in place to ensure they met people’s diverse and cultural needs. Those who lived at the home and relatives told us people respected their customs and their way of life. Care records we looked at evidenced people and where appropriate relatives were fully included in their support planning.

The registered manager used a variety of methods to assess and monitor the quality of the service. These included staff meetings and auditing of the service. This enabled Hipswell Highway to be monitored and improve areas that were identified through their quality monitoring processes.

The service worked in partnership with other organisations to ensure they followed good practice and people in their care were safe.

There was a complaints procedure which was made available to people. Only one complaint had been received since their registration. We found this had been resolved to a satisfactory conclusion and in a timely approach.

More information is in Detailed Findings below.

Rating at last inspection:

This was a planned first inspection of the service since their registration with CQC.

About the service:

Hipswell Highway is a small home registered to provide accommodation for up to six adults with learning disabilities. The property is detached and provides single rooms for people. At the time of our visit there were five people who lived at the home.

Why we inspected:

This was a planned first inspection of the service since their registration with CQC.

Follow up:

We will continue to monitor intelligence we receive about the service until we return to visit as per our re-inspection programme or if any issues or concerns are identified.