Village Farm in Norton Disney, Lincolnshire, a residential home providing personal care for people whose needs are associated with learning disabilities and autism was rated outstanding for being caring and responsive following an inspection by the Care Quality Commission (CQC), 26 June 2019.
It achieved the score of good for the safe, effective and well-led categories.
The CQC report highlighted that when one person sustained an accidental injury, staff were pro-active in their approach to ensuring the person was able to continue to live their life as they wished to and to access their chosen activities. Through discussions, staff adapted a downstairs en-suite room to ensure the person could continue to be as independent as they wanted to be during the recovery process. The impact of this approach ensured the person's emotional well-being was sustained.
Another person had a habit of isolating themselves from others. Staff reviewed the impact of this, and the person's interests and supported them to attend an interview at a connected service for a short-term job within the maintenance team. The person received a wage for the work completed, which they used to buy Christmas presents for their family. The impact of this was an improvement in the person's quality of life and sense of self-worth. The person had taken great pride in shopping for and choosing the presents for their family.
This led to staff using a creative approach to support the person with activities of interest to them, that included the purchase of a new workshop so the resident could restore old bikes.
Residents received opportunities to participate in a wide range of social, recreational and pastoral activities, based on people's interests, hobbies and pastimes.
When one person found it difficult to access time with their family due to anxiety around the timings of visits, staff took action to promote choice for the person by putting strategies in place which included a visual aid and more robust communication systems with the person's relatives to ensure the person was clear around the timings of their home visits. This led to a decrease in the person becoming distressed and an increase in family contact, therefore improving the quality of life for the person and assisting in strengthening the relationship between the person and their family.
