16 March 2017
During a routine inspection
There was a manager in post at the time of the inspection. 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 legal responsibility for meeting the requirements in the Health and Social Care Act 2008 and associated Regulations about how the service is run.
We received positive comments from people using the service where they were able to verbally express their views and their relatives about the staffing arrangements in the service. Staff followed instructions to minimise known risks to people’s health and well-being. Measures had been put into place to ensure risks were managed appropriately.
People were supported by staff who had received training and who had been supported to obtain qualifications. This ensured that the care provided was safe and followed best practice guidelines. Robust recruitment checks were in place to ensure new staff were suitable to work with people who used the service.
People received their medicines safely. Staff responsible for administering medicines had received relevant training.
Some staff we spoke with could not demonstrate a confident knowledge in the requirements, and their responsibilities in line with the Mental Capacity Act 2005. This was because they had not yet completed updates in training in this area, however this was planned for the future. Not all applications to apply for Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS) to protect the rights of people had been submitted to the local supervisory body for authorisation.
People had access to a variety of food and drink which they enjoyed. People were supported to eat and drink sufficient amounts to help them to maintain good health.
People were supported to have access to a wide range of health care professionals and were involved where able in the planning and reviewing of their care. Care plans we saw included people’s personal history, individual preferences and interests and reflected. People’s care and support needs. They also contained specific information and guidance for staff to enable them to provide individualised care and support.
People told us, or indicated that they were happy living at the service. We saw people continued to pursue individual interests and hobbies that they enjoyed. People were able to choose whether they wanted the opportunity to participate in meaningful activities.
People using the service and their relatives knew how to raise complaints. The complaints procedure was displayed in different formats to support people’s preferred way of communicating.
Systems were in place to monitor and improve the quality of the service provided. The quality audits addressed areas of concern in ensuring the service maintained compliance with the regulations and was consistently meeting people’s needs.