Staff at a learning disability home in Browston near Great Yarmouth are celebrating a glowing CQC report
Staff at a learning disability home in Browston near Great Yarmouth are celebrating a glowing Care Quality Commission report. Decoy Farm, run by the Kingsley Healthcare Group, was given an overall good rating by the inspector and was assessed as outstanding for its responsiveness to people’s needs. Home manager Wendy Jack, pictured centre middle row, who has overseen and developed the nursing-led service for nine residents since its opening in 2009, said: “We are thrilled to have earned an outstanding rating in one of the inspection categories.
“Decoy Farm really is a family and staff genuinely care. It is my philosophy that the right values and attitudes in staff from the outset are paramount to a successful service. “One of the aims of Decoy is to prevent admission/ re-admission to hospital – we have been successful in achieving this which in itself is a major achievement. I believe this is because we have a skilled staff group who can act upon things quickly before they snowball.”
She said the report reflected positively on Kingsley’s learning disability service, ISISS, at a time when it was poised to start building a fifth home, on the model of Decoy Farm, in Cambridgeshire. The inspector describes the proactive approach of staff to ensuring residents are at the centre of planning their care. He notes how information from residents, their families and other professional is used to accurately reflect the needs of the person. To achieve this two members of staff have been trained as communications champions. “Relatives we spoke to felt that the staff had the specialist skills to manage their family member’s high level of support need. One relative told us that staff were particularly skilful at managing and reducing self-harm and destructive behaviour,” he said. “Relatives were also very positive about how caring the staff were towards their relative. One told us, ‘the staff are truly excellent, they have genuine love and respect for people at the home’.”
The inspector observed the detailed planning put in by staff to help residents achieve their goals – one person with autistic spectrum disorder has the dream of going on an overseas holiday and staff have helped him adjust to the changes in his routine through visits to small airfields, air shows and air museums before finally taking him on a trip to Gatwick Airport and an overnight stay. The report concludes that the home is well led by a manager who is known well by people and staff. There was a friendly, open and positive culture which encouraged good communication; quality assurance systems in place were used to good effect.
