Membership review for Buckfield House

The membership review is intended to reflect the experiences of the visitor who might be looking for a placement.

The review is subjective, consistent and impartial, representing the impressions of our team member on the day of the visit. It is a snapshot view only. The contents of this review are intended to cover some of the subjects and issues which an individual, their relatives or their placement officer might ask.

This review has been published with the written agreement of the home owner, or an authorised representative of the company.

‘All in all a very impressive package that would work well for individuals with autism and additional learning disabilities and/or complex needs.’

Summary of findings

Buckfield House was a very impressive home on many different levels. The house and grounds were both beautifully presented and were really spacious. The whole site covers over an acre of land. Added to this, I observed a highly dedicated, knowledgeable and helpful staff team who knew their clients thoroughly. The management team were also very ”hands on” and through speaking to the staff across all Inspiration Care services I found that staff felt very supported by this. Lastly, the staff were able to call on specialist support for individuals in terms of psychiatry, psychology, occupational therapy and speech and language therapy. All in all a very impressive package that would work well for individuals with autism and additional learning disabilities and or complex needs.

Introduction

Inspiration Care had several residential and supported living/domiciliary care services in Herefordshire. As well as individuals on the autistic spectrum, Inspiration Care were supporting individuals with learning disabilities, acquired brain injury, cerebral palsy, mental health problems, Prader Willi syndrome and variety of comorbid conditions such as epilepsy. 

Buckfield House is situated on the outskirts of the market town of Leominster. There are all the amenities that one might expect to find in a town; supermarkets, hospital, GP and dental services, sports, leisure and educational facilities as well as a bus terminal and main-line rail station which connects to Shrewsbury, London Paddington and the Midlands.

The home itself is a large, spacious property set in an acre of land.

The last Care Quality Commission inspection carried out in September 2013 found Buckfield House to be compliant in all areas.

First Impressions

This was my second visit to Buckfield House in the last few months and it is a really lovely peaceful setting. The large space and driveway at the front of the house allowed for several vehicles to be parked and provided a safe and easy dropping off point.  There was a secure entry system for the front door. I was taken by one of the Directors, Martyn Titcombe, to meet two of the senior support staff the Manager Tracey and George the Assistant Manager who showed me round the home. 

The Environment (Internal)

The accommodation consisted of a large entrance hall, two reception rooms, a dining room,

a kitchen/breakfast room, a laundry and utility room, six bedrooms all with en-suite bath/shower or wet rooms. The spaciousness of the rooms and the height of the ceilings were a real feature and made for an environment that felt completely unoppressive and therapeutic. Several individuals enjoyed using one of the reception rooms as a quiet room,  a place of sanctuary when they were feeling anxious. All the bedrooms except one were equally sizable; the one exception was the bedroom on the third floor. The individual who occupied that room had apparently responded well to the more compact environment and according to staff he generally only accessed the room to sleep in.

Inspiration Care employed a full-time maintenance person. The home apart from some slight water damage on a ceiling due to an overflowing bath was clean and very well maintained.

The Environment (External)

The large driveway at the front of the house allowed for several vehicles to be parked and allowed for safe and easy transition for picking up and dropping off. To the side of the house there was a large garden area covering about an acre of land. Staff reported many individuals really appeared to benefit from the ability to access such a quiet, wide, open space so easily. Staff had a shelter in the garden that allowed them to easily observe individuals from a distance in all types of weather. The grounds were secure with a perimeter fence surrounding the whole plot.  This did not feel at all oppressive with bushes and planting obscuring much of the fencing.

The Environment (Wider environment)

Staff indicated that there was a positive overall relationship with neighbours and with the local community.

Individuals from Buckfield House regularly attended ‘Yam Jams’ in Leominster which offered participants a unique musical experience and a social opportunity for people of all abilities in a community setting. Hereford and Worcester are the nearest major cities and various amenities could be accessed in those areas from both an educational (Worcester and Hereford Colleges) and leisure (Cinema and swimming baths) perspective. Snoezelen and sensory sessions were also accessed in the locality.

Understanding Autism

Inspiration Care ensured that staff were trained to respond effectively to the individual needs of service users with autism and staff were supported by a team of professionals including the psychologist, Nick Logan, who was actually on the board of directors, who were brought in regularly by Inspiration Care. 

Martyn Titcombe, one of the directors, delivered training to staff in autism &sensory issues, brain injury awareness and challenging behaviour and also delivered training packages externally. 

All staff members were also trained in the CALM system (Crisis and Aggression

Limitation and Management), which had emphasis on the use of diversion, de-escalation and Positive Behaviour Support (PBS). 

Health and Wellbeing

All the people living at Buckfield were registered with the local General Practitioner. Medication was seen to be stored appropriately in a robust, lockable cabinet.

Some adaptations had been made to individual living spaces to take into account an individual’s specific disability or sensitivity. Staff mentioned that they had made alterations to an individual’s windows to accommodate their sensory needs. All individuals received input from speech and language therapist, Sue White, and occupational therapist, Nadine Costello.

Individuals living in the home

All individuals residing at Buckfield House at the time of the visit did not communicate verbally. Use of Picture Exchange Communication Schemes and objects of reference were prevalent throughout the home. One individual was also facilitated to use Makaton. 

Each individual had a carefully planned weekly programme to suit their wishes, needs and abilities and the programmes were displayed in the staff office. Although there was room for flexibility within the day, the staff understood the importance of structure and timing. Several individuals were at home during the visit and were either engaged in different activities or preparing to go out for an excursion.

Staffing

The staff spoke about the individuals they supported with such passion and pride that it was both impressive and reassuring. The staff members I spoke with were friendly, helpful and had a great knowledge of each individual service user.

The induction for new staff took place over three weeks and included attendance at a number of specific training sessions around working with autistic clients. There was also induction to Buckfield House itself. Time was also allowed for reading to allow an understanding of care plans and protocols. As well as the induction training, staff also received training in fire safety, food hygiene, first aid, health and safety, infection control, manual handling, protection of vulnerable adults, safeguarding and mental capacity and deprivation of liberty safeguards.

All shift leaders had supervisory and management training and staff received supervision on a six-weekly basis. 

Martyn Titcombe (Director) stated that across the company agency staff were rarely used and it was only because a member of staff had left at short notice that minor usage in recent times had been prompted.

Management of the home 

One of the directors of Inspiration Care, Karen Hall is the Registered Manager for Buckfield House.

Policies and procedures relating to the running of the home were available for staff to peruse. Staff supervision was carried out on a monthly basis. There was a staff handbook supplied to each member of staff which covered areas such as conduct and appropriate dress amongst other things. 

I asked one of the directors, Martyn Titcombe, what he felt had been Buckfield’s most significant achievements during the last 2 years. Martyn stated that being able to develop and strengthen the team, which had built confidence with everyone being able to contribute to service users’ development and success. The team had worked hard to develop transition plans in order for service users to feel less anxious and settle quickly. Each service user has their own individual activity and life skill plan. Working within the framework of Positive Behaviour Support, the team had enabled each service user to enjoy a high quality of life. For example, self- harming behaviour and behaviour that challenges the service had reduced; individuals had progressed with regard to the use of communication and a service user had been supported, within a long process of de-sensitisation whereby he no longer needs to be physically restrained to have his hair cut. The most recent young man had been assisted to settle in, he had responded very positively to the team’s approach to introducing new places and was seemingly enjoying the exploration of new environments and even able to remain within a restaurant to eat an entire meal. This was very much largely down to a staff team who were resilient, aware of the importance of having knowledge and understanding of both autism, and what it meant to the person with what we considered as ‘individual’s autism’: that which is unique to that person.’                                                       

I also asked Martyn what he felt made Buckfield House unique?  Martyn responded by saying ‘Buckfield House was unique due to the size of the home and so few service users. It is set in an acre of secure landscaped grounds enabling easy access to the outdoors with plenty of space for individuals to explore freely. The house, being an ex-lord of the manor’s home, was able to offer those with autism a chance to enjoy unrivalled care within a homely environment that provided superior-sized, period rooms with high ceilings, with two reception rooms and separate dining room; each service user having their own table, the bedrooms  were all en-suite with separate wet-room shower or Jacuzzi baths. Buckfield House was ideally located to access local amenities and the surrounding area. The home had three vehicles in order to ensure service users were not restricted in the activities they could access. Martyn also added that the team were able to access support from a range of professionals including SALT,OT, psychology, risk management, behaviour management advice and psychiatry’

Lastly, I asked Martyn with regard to how he saw Buckfield developing over the next 2 years. Martyn told me that most importantly, he expected the service users to be supported to continue to develop their skills. The team would be continuing to make improvements to the environment including installing double glazing throughout the property and a new exit direct from the lounge to the garden; improving and updating sensory equipment in the garden. The manager and deputy were currently completing the leadership and management award with the manager also enrolled for the resilience manager training. The team were undertaking a “TEACH” programme with all staff and also in the process of developing further autism training for the whole of the staff team to improve their expertise.’

Conclusion

I very much enjoyed my visit to Buckfield House and found the whole set up to be very impressive. The house and grounds are both beautifully presented and are really spacious, I found both the staff working at Buckfield House and the management team at Inspiration Care to have a wealth of knowledge about autism and the individuals in their care, and they came across as very dedicated. An excellent home for Individuals with autism and additional learning disabilities and or complex needs.

 

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Visiting Officer: Craig Godding, Director of Operations
Living Autism