Northampton care home ‘disappointed’ with CQC rating but says it is working hard to improve

A Northampton supported living service has said it is “disappointed” with the outcome of their first inspection carried out by the Care Quality Commission (CQC).

The New Horizons House in Lyttleton Road - run by Nottingham Community Housing Association (NCHA) - provides supported living to people with learning disabilities and mental health difficulties, including some residents who require 24 hour care.

The CQC’s inspection in February looked at the service provided to residents who receive personal care - this included four out of 27 residents.

Whilst the service was rated good in effectiveness, care and responsiveness, safety and leadership was found to require improvement leading to an overall rating of ‘requires improvement.’

Assistant director of homes and wellbeing at NCHA, Gemma De Brito, said: “We are disappointed that the CQC have given our service an overall rating of ‘requires improvement’. Where recommendations have been made, we are already working hard to implement them.”

The inspection found that processes to ensure management oversight were not always effective, records were not accurate or detailed and feedback was not always sought from relatives and staff.

Ms De Brito told Chronicle & Echo that she was, however, “pleased” to see that the CQC acknowledged that the service manager “implemented changes immediately after inspection” and worked with external professionals to “drive improvement and learn lessons.”

The CQC inspector described “kind” staff, who treat their residents with dignity and respect and encourage them to learn new skills, like cooking, and participate in enjoyable activities.

They are safely recruited and deliver person-centred care plans that detail residents’ likes, dislikes, significant people in their lives and additional needs.

Ms De Brito continued: “We are committed to delivering high levels of care and support to all the people we provide services to across the East Midlands. We’re reassured that the CQC report rated Lyttleton Road’s services as ‘good’ in three of the five categories, and were pleased to read many positive statements from staff, residents and their families.

“We will continue to learn and implement recommendations, and will work with all concerned to ensure we deliver consistent, good-quality, personalised care to those that we support.”

This service was registered with the CQC in December 2019 and this was their first inspection.

Read the full CQC report of Lyttleton Road here.