About the service Simone’s House is a residential care home providing accommodation and personal care to up to five people. The service provides support to adults with mental health needs and physical disabilities. At the time of our inspection there were five people using the service.
The care home accommodates people in one adapted building. Each person had their own bedroom and some of the bedrooms had en-suite facilities. There were communal bathrooms, a kitchen, a living room and a newly built conservatory which also served as a dining room. People had access to a garden at the rear of the property.
People’s experience of using this service and what we found
Whilst people and relatives told us they received safe care and treatment, we found risks associated with people’s care and health were not always managed appropriately. Risk assessments lacked clear guidance for staff. Systems were in place to ensure staff were recruited and deployed safely, however, we made a recommendation on this issue due to some shortfalls. Although staff provided individualised care and treatment, care plans lacked specific details on the support people received. We made recommendations on person-centred care planning and the provision of meaningful activities. Existing quality assurance systems did not identify the issues we found at this inspection.
People received their medicines safely and as prescribed. Staff received training in safeguarding and knew how to recognise and report signs of abuse. The service had implemented appropriate infection prevention and control measures to protect people, staff and visitors from catching infections.
People were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff supported them in the least restrictive way possible and in their best interests; the policies and systems in the service supported this practice.
Staff knew how to communicate with people effectively despite the communication difficulties they had. People and their relatives told us they did not have to make any complaints in the recent months prior to the inspection but a system was in place to record, investigate and address complaints when needed.
There was an open and inclusive culture at the service. People, relatives and staff spoke positively of the management and the support they received. Where people were unable to make decisions about their care, the service engaged with their relatives and staff for feedback. The team worked in partnership with healthcare services and other professionals to achieve good outcomes for people.
For more details, please see the full report which is on the CQC website at www.cqc.org.uk
Rating at last inspection
The last rating for this service was good (published 30 January 2019).
Why we inspected
We looked at infection prevention and control measures under the Safe key question. We look at this in all care home inspections even if no concerns or risks have been identified. This is to provide assurance that the service can respond to COVID-19 and other infection outbreaks effectively.
We received concerns in relation to management records, people’s care records and quality of care. As a result, we undertook a focused inspection to review the key questions of safe, responsive and well-led only. For those key questions not inspected, we used the ratings awarded at the last inspection to calculate the overall rating.
The overall rating for the service has changed from good to requires improvement based on the findings of this inspection. We have found evidence that the provider needs to make improvements. Please see the safe, responsive and well-led sections of this full report.
You can read the report from our last comprehensive inspection, by selecting the ‘all reports’ link for Simone’s House on our website at www.cqc.org.uk.
Enforcement and Recommendations
We have identified breaches in relation to the safe management of people’s risks and good governance of the service, at this inspection.
Please see the action we have told the provider to take at the end of this report.
Follow up
We will request an action plan from the provider to understand what they will do to improve the standards of quality and safety. We will work alongside the provider and local authority to monitor progress. We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service, which will help inform when we next inspect.