The inspection took place on 26 August and 2 September 2015 and was unannounced. Amberley House provides care and accommodation for up to 42 older people some whom are living with dementia. On the day of the inspection 42 people resided at the service with two people currently in hospital. Amberley House is owned by A & L Care Homes Limited. A & L Care Homes Limited has another service within the county of Devon.
The service had a registered manager in post. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission (CQC) to manage the service. Like registered providers, they are ‘registered persons’. Registered persons have legal responsibility for meeting the requirements in the Health and Social Care Act 2008 and associated Regulations about how the service is run.
People’s medicines were not always managed safely. People had not always been given their medicines as prescribed. Medicine records were incorrectly recorded and the documented number of medicines held was incorrect.
People looked relaxed with the staff and there was a friendly and calm atmosphere. People were chatting and enjoying the staffs company. Comments included; “Best place I’ve been.” People, who were able to, told us they were happy living there.
People’s privacy and dignity were maintained. We observed staff supporting people and being kind and compassionate. People told us staff were kind and caring. People’s privacy and dignity were respected by staff who provided individual and personalised care.
People, their relatives and professionals were happy with the care provided by the staff and said staff were knowledgeable and were able to meet people’s needs. People were encouraged and supported to make decisions and choices whenever possible in their day to day lives.
People were protected by safe recruitment procedures. There were sufficient staff employed to meet people’s needs and new staff completed an induction programme. Staff received a comprehensive induction programme. Staff had undertaken training and had the right skills to meet people’s needs.
People visited healthcare professionals, for example GPs and district nurses, to ensure they received appropriate care and treatment to meet their health care needs. Staff responded to information given to them by professionals to ensure people received the care they needed to remain well.
People who did not have capacity to make decisions for themselves were supported by staff to make sure their legal rights were protected and worked with others in their best interest. People’s safety and liberty were promoted.
People were better protected from harm as staff had safeguarding of vulnerable adults training and had the knowledge on how to report any concerns and what action they would take to protect people. Staff were confident any incidents or allegations would be fully investigated.
People were supported to maintain a healthy balanced diet. People told us they enjoyed their meals, there was plenty of it and they did not feel rushed. People had opportunities to take part in a variety of activities.
People’s care records contained detailed information about how people wished to be supported. Records were updated to reflect people’s changing needs. People and their families said they were involved in the planning of their care.
Staff told us they were happy working at the service and told us the registered manager was supportive, kept them informed, listened to them and acted on any concerns raised.
There were quality assurance systems in place. Feedback to assess the quality of the service provided was sought from people and their relatives. Audits were carried out to help ensure people were safe, for example environmental audits were completed.
We found a breach of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) 2014. You can see what action we told the provider to take at the back of the full version of this report.