Background to this inspection
Updated
8 February 2020
The inspection
We carried out this inspection under Section 60 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (the Act) as part of our regulatory functions. We checked whether the provider was meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Act. We looked at the overall quality of the service and provided a rating for the service under the Care Act 2014.
Inspection team
This inspection was undertaken by one inspector.
Service and service type
The service provides nursing and personal care and support for up to 18 people with mental health issues. People in care homes receive accommodation and nursing or personal care as single package under one contractual agreement. CQC regulates both the premises and the care provided, and both were looked at during this inspection.
Notice of inspection
This was an unannounced inspection.
What we did before the inspection
Before our inspection we looked at information we held about the service. We reviewed information stored on our database, such as notifications that the registered manager is required, by law, to submit to us as and when incidents may have occurred. We also reviewed all other information sent to us from other people or agencies, for example, the local authority.
During the inspection
We spoke with three people who used the service. We also spoke with three support staff, the registered manager, the regional manager and the head of care for the company during our visit.
We reviewed three people's care records including daily care records. We also looked at the medication administration records (MARs) for people who used the service. We looked at records relating to the management of the service, which included, policies and procedures, training records and recruitment records of staff.
After the inspection
We spoke with two relatives by telephone and reviewed further information sent to us by the service.
Updated
8 February 2020
About the service
Alderson house is a residential care home providing personal and nursing care to 17 people with mental health issues at the time of the inspection. The service can support up to 18 people.
People’s experience of using this service and what we found
There were systems and processes in place to monitor the quality of the service, however, these were not fully effective. We found some inconsistences with information in care plans and the audits around some areas of practice were not robust.
People were safe at the service as staff understood their roles in managing any possible safeguarding issues. The risks to people’s safety were assessed and measures in place to mitigate risks and keep people safe.
People were supported by sufficient numbers of staff who received training for their role. The provider undertook safe recruitment processes to ensure people were supported by a suitable staff group.
People received their medicines from staff who had been trained to safely administer medicines. Staff employed safe practices to control the risks of infection at the service and there were processes in place to learn from incidents and accidents to reduce the risk of reoccurrence.
People’s nutritional and health needs were well managed and the environment they lived in was well maintained. The service had a number of communal areas for people to use, both inside and outside the property. There was also equipment for people to follow their hobbies and enjoy their environment.
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.
People were supported by a caring staff group who respected their choices. People had the opportunity to voice their opinions on their care and were supported when needed with the services of advocates.
People received care in a personalised way, staff we spoke with showed a good understanding of people’s needs. However, the information in their care plans did not always support this. The management team were aware of the need to review and improve the information in people’s care plans and were already working to address this.
People were supported to maintain relationships with their families, follow their hobbies and be involved in social activities. Information was provided in ways people could understand and there was clear information around the service to support people should they wish to make a complaint.
People and staff told us the registered manager and other senior managers were approachable, and both people and staff were able to voice their opinions about the service and felt they were listened too. The registered manager worked to provide an open person centred approach to people’s care and worked with other health care professionals to achieve this.
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 requires improvement (published 28 March 2018).
Why we inspected
This was a planned inspection based on the rating at the last inspection