What the CQC found at 5-6 Prior's Court Cottages: Bradbury House

Care plans gave staff detailed information about each person's needs, communication and preferred support. Inspectors saw staff using this information to provide calm and individualised care.

“ELPs contained sufficient detail to enable staff to support them in a person-centred way.” from the report

Risks such as seizures, behaviours and evacuation needs were assessed and reviewed. Staff used support plans and responded calmly to early signs of anxiety.

“People's safety was supported because identified risks were assessed in detail and plans devised to address them.” from the report

Staff understood people's individual communication methods and gave them time to process information. People were supported to make daily choices about food, clothing and activities.

“Staff were very familiar with people's individual methods of communication and we saw them using these to good effect throughout the inspection.” from the report

Staff received induction, regular training, supervision and appraisals. Competency checks were used to help make sure staff had the necessary skills.

“Staff were provided with ongoing support through quarterly one-to-one supervisions and progress and development needs were discussed in annual appraisals.” from the report

Moves into and out of the home were carefully planned around each person's needs. Inspectors said this helped reduce stress and incidents.

“These well-planned changes, had helped increase stability within the service and reduced the level of incidents significantly” from the report

Recruitment difficulties led to the use of agency staff. The report says this affected continuity and consistency, although familiar agency workers were used to reduce the impact.

“Ongoing difficulties with recruitment led to use of a number of agency staff which had some impact on continuity and consistency of care.” from the report

Most relatives were positive, but one said staffing shortages or a lack of initiative sometimes limited outings. Another felt day-to-day updates were not as good as communication during incidents.

“One relative felt that staff shortages or sometimes lack of initiative, prevented their family member from getting out and about as often as they would like.” from the report

The home found it difficult to obtain people's views about their care. Planned meetings and other feedback methods had not yet started at the inspection.

“Obtaining the views of people supported about their experience of their care had proved difficult, and further development was needed in this area.” from the report