This inspection was undertaken on 01 October 2015, and was unannounced. The service was last inspected on 9 April 2014 the service was compliant with the regulations that we looked at.
College View is registered with the Care Quality Commission [CQC] to provide accommodation for up to twelve people who may be living with dementia. Accommodation is provided over two floors. There is a secure garden at the rear of the service and a car park for visitors to use.
The registered provider is the registered manager for this service. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission to manage the service. Like registered providers, they are ‘registered persons’. Registered persons have the legal responsibility for meeting the requirements in the Health and Social Care Act 2008 and associated Regulations about how the service is run.
Staff understood they had a duty to protect people from abuse and knew they must report concerns or potential abuse to the management team, local authority or to the Care Quality Commission [CQC]. This helped to protect people.
We observed that the staffing levels provided on the day of our inspection were adequate to meet people’s needs. Staff were aware of the risks to people’s wellbeing and what action to take to minimise those risks. Staff had undertaken training in a variety of subjects to develop and maintain their skills, this was updated, as required.
People’s nutritional needs were assessed and monitored; their preferences and special dietary needs were known and were catered for. Staff encouraged and assisted people to eat and drink, where necessary. Advice from relevant health care professionals was sought to ensure that people’s nutritional needs were met.
Staff supported people to make decisions for themselves they reworded questions or information to help people living with dementia understand what was being said. People chose how to spend their time.
We found when inspecting people’s care records that there was no record of an incident where a person had been unwell and that medical advice had not been sought. During our inspection some fire doors were held open by inappropriate means and some storage of some cleaning chemicals and slug pellets had to be addressed. Window restrictors were not in use in two areas and a person required a bed rail bumper to be replaced. These issues were dealt with at the time of our inspection.
People who used the service were supported to make their own decisions about aspects of their daily lives. Staff followed the principles of the Mental Capacity Act 2005 when there were concerns people lacked capacity and important decisions needed to be made.
There was signage in place to help people find their way to the toilets and bathrooms. People had their names and pictures on their bedroom door to help people find their room. Staff helped to guide people to where they wished to go. The communal areas were located on the ground floor. General maintenance occurred and service contracts were in place to maintain equipment so it remained safe to use.
A complaints procedure was in place. This was explained to people living with dementia or to their relations so that they were informed. People’s views were asked for informally by staff and through surveys. Feedback received was acted upon to help people remain satisfied with the service they received.
The registered manager undertook a variety of audits to help them monitor the quality of the service. However, the issues we found at the time of our inspection had not been identified by this process.