We carried out an unannounced inspection of Primrose Villa on 23 and 24 November 2016. Primrose Villa is a 15 bed residential care home situated in the Standish area of Wigan. Accommodation is provided over two floors with wheel chair access to all floors via a fully automatic lift. The home has parking facilities for eight cars and a large garden area to the rear of the property. At the time of our inspection there were 13 people living at the home.
The home was last inspected on 10 and 15 February 2016, when we rated the service as ‘inadequate’ overall. We also identified six breaches of the regulations of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014. These were in relation to maintaining a safe environment, staff recruitment, management of medicines, records, staffing levels and governance.
At this inspection we found the service had made improvements in regards to the management of medicines, safe recruitment practices and record keeping, however identified four breaches in three of the regulations of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014. These were in relation to staffing levels, person centred care and good governance. You can see what actions we told the provider to take at the back of this report. We also made two recommendations in relation to the recording of fluids and ensuring the environment was dementia friendly.
At the time of the inspection the home had a registered manager. ‘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 saw that overall the home was clean and had appropriate infection control processes in place. The service employed a housekeeper who was responsible for the cleanliness of both the communal areas and people’s rooms. Cleaning equipment was stored safely and securely.
People we spoke with told us they felt safe. The home had appropriate safeguarding policies and procedures in place, with instructions on how to report any safeguarding concerns to the local authority. Staff were all trained in safeguarding vulnerable adults and had a good knowledge of how to identify and report any safeguarding or whistleblowing concerns.
Most of the staff we spoke with told us enough were employed to meet people’s needs; however one said an additional carer would be beneficial. People using the service also had mixed views with some believing there to be enough, whilst others commented on long waiting times and the need for an extra staff member. From our observations during inspection and reviewing various records, we noted that people were often left unsupervised in the lounge and dining area, whilst staff attended to people’s needs in other parts of the home.
People using the service also provided differing opinions on the activity programme provided by the home. Some stated they were satisfied with what was on offer whilst others did not believe enough activities were planned, and what was scheduled wasn’t of interest to them. Two people stated they enjoyed going out of the home, such as for walks to the local shop, however this happened very infrequently as there was not enough staff to facilitate this.
We looked at three care files in detail and each contained detailed information about the people who used the service and how they wished to be cared for. Each file contained comprehensive care plans and risk assessments, which helped ensure people’s needs were being met and their safety maintained. People and their relatives had been asked if and how often they wanted to be involved in reviewing their care. We looked at an additional four files to capture people’s opinions and saw that the majority only wanted to be informed of any changes; however one person had requested to be involved in regular reviews of their care plan, which had not occurred.
Both the registered manager and staff we spoke to demonstrated a good knowledge and understanding of the Mental Capacity Act 2005 (MCA) and Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS), which is used when someone needs to be deprived of their liberty in their best interest. We saw the service was working within the principles of the MCA and had followed the correct procedures when making DoLS applications. At the time of our inspection the 10 applications were still awaiting assessment.
We saw medicines were stored, handled and administered safely and effectively. All necessary documentation was in place and was completed consistently. Staff responsible for administering medicines were trained and had their competency assessed.
Staff spoke positively about the training available and confirmed that statutory sessions were refreshed as per company policy. We saw all staff had completed an induction programme and both new and some existing staff had been enrolled on the care certificate. Requests for additional training in specific areas, such as dementia and managing challenging behaviour had been acknowledged and sessions organised.
Staff told us they completed bi-monthly supervisions, and attended monthly team meetings. However we did not see evidence that team meetings were held as frequently as reported, with only three meetings documented in the staff meeting file, nevertheless staff told us they felt supported in their roles and there was an open door policy should they wish to discuss any concerns.
During meal times people were able to make choices about where they sat and what they ate, with menu options being provided at point of service. People told us they enjoyed the food and received enough to eat and drink. Drinks were available on tables throughout the day and a water cooler had recently been installed for people to use. Food and fluid charts were in place, however our observations showed that not everything consumed was being recorded, as staff did not always observe what people had drank.
Throughout the inspection we observed positive and appropriate interactions between the staff and people who used the service. Staff were seen to be caring and treated people with kindness, dignity and respect. People who used the service were complimentary about the staff and the standard of care received.
We saw that relative and resident meeting minutes were almost 12 months old and there had been no recent attempts to capture the views of people using the service or their relatives, through completion of quality assurance questionnaires. People we spoke to told us nobody ever asked them for their views, though they would be happy to provide them.
The home had a range of systems and procedures in place to monitor the quality and effectiveness of the service. Audits were completed on differing timescales, depending on the area being assessed and covered a wide range of areas including medication, care files, infection control, health and safety and meal time experience. All audits contained sections for action points although we saw these were not carried out consistently. We also noted the audits did not always effectively capture issues they had been designed to detect.