Background to this inspection
Updated
24 October 2017
We carried out this inspection under Section 60 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 as part of our regulatory functions. This inspection was planned to check whether the provider is meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Health and Social Care Act 2008, to look at the overall quality of the service, and to provide a rating for the service under the Care Act 2014.
This unannounced inspection was carried out by one inspector and took place on 15 September 2017.
Before the inspection, we reviewed the information we held about the service. This included the last inspection report in 2015. We had asked the provider to complete a Provider Information Return (PIR), which is a form that asks them to give some key information about the service, such as what the service does well and improvements they plan to make, and this was taken into consideration. We also reviewed statutory notifications and safeguarding alerts. A statutory notification is information about important events which the service is required to send us by law.
We spoke with four people using the service and looked at their care records. We spoke with the deputy manager who was in-charge when we inspected, and three other staff involved in supporting people. We also met and spoke with an external assessor who was visiting the home to meet with a staff member working towards further qualifications in care.
We reviewed a range of records in relation to how the home was managed, such as maintenance records, medicines administration records, and people's daily support records. We looked at four records in relation to staff recruitment and training, as well as records related to the quality monitoring of the service by the provider and senior staff.
We undertook general observations throughout the home, including observing interactions between care staff and people in the communal areas. We viewed the communal accommodation and facilities in the home, as well as the garden, and two people showed us their bedrooms.
Updated
24 October 2017
This unannounced inspection took place on 15 September 2017.
Elm House provides accommodation with personal care for up to eight people with learning disabilities. The home is situated in the market town of Bolsover and is a two floor property with a number of communal areas and large garden available for people to use. There were eight people in residence when we inspected.
At the last inspection on 28 May 2015, the service was rated ‘Good’. At this inspection we found the service remained ‘Good’.
A registered manager was 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 were safe. There were sufficient numbers of experienced and trained staff to safely meet people’s assessed needs.
People’s needs had been assessed prior to admission and they each had an agreed care plan that was regularly reviewed to ensure they continued to receive the care and support they needed. Care plans were personalised and reflected each person’s individual needs and provided staff with the information and guidance they needed to manage risk and keep people safe. Risks to people’s safety were reviewed as their needs and dependencies changed.
People received care and support from staff that knew what was expected of them and they carried out their duties effectively and with compassion. People were treated equally and shown respect as individuals with a range of needs that came together from a diverse backgrounds.
People were protected by robust recruitment procedures from receiving unsafe care from staff that were unsuited to the job. They were safeguarded from abuse and poor practice by staff that knew what action they needed to take if they suspected this was happening.
People’s individual preferences for the way they liked to receive their care and support were respected. People were encouraged and enabled to do things for themselves by friendly staff that were responsive and attentive them. They had insight into people’s capabilities and aspirations. People’s capacity to make informed choices had been assessed and the provider and staff were aware of the Mental Capacity Act 2005 and the importance of seeking people’s consent when receiving care and support.
People were encouraged and supported to use community facilities and attend day centre activities and work placements.
People had enough to eat and drink. People who needed encouragement and support with eating a healthy diet received the help they required.
People that required support with taking medicines received the help they needed. Medicines were appropriately and safely managed and staff had received the training they needed in the safe administration of medicines. Medicines were securely stored and there were suitable arrangements in place for their timely administration.
People had access to community healthcare professionals and received timely medical attention when this was needed. There were appropriate arrangements in place for people to have regular healthcare check-ups.
People, and where appropriate, their family or other representatives were assured that if they were unhappy with the care provided they would be listened to and that appropriate action would be taken to resolve matters.