About the service Medihands Healthcare provides accommodation and personal care for up to 17 adults with mental health needs. At the time of the inspection there were 16 people using the service.
People’s experience of using this service and what we found
People were positive and happy with care they received and said they felt safe living at the service. We found that their care needs were met by the provider through good care planning and support.
Despite the positive feedback, we found some areas of concern. We found the décor of the home needed updating and there were some areas within the home that could compromise the safety of people. Some of the risks in relation to fire safety for individual people had not been fully completed and their evacuation plans had not been reviewed in over a year.
Although there were governance procedures in place, these did not always identify the areas of concern we found at the inspection.
The provider assessed risk in relations to people care needs, including their mental health. There were appropriate recruitment checks in place and there were enough staff employed to keep people safe. People were supported to take their medicines and the provider had effective infection control procedures in place, including those in relation to COVID-19.
Staff received an induction to the service and completed mandatory training, however staff supervision had not been completed on a regular basis.
People were supported by staff in relation to their healthcare and their dietary and nutrition needs.
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 told us they were treated with respect and dignity. Staff demonstrated a caring attitude towards people.
Care plans were reviewed on a regular basis and people were supported to access the community to avoid social isolation. People told us they knew who to speak with if they were unhappy.
Some aspects of the service were well managed. The registered manager was approachable and worked with local partners to ensure peoples received the appropriate support.
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 Good (published 3 May 2018).
Why we inspected
The inspection was part of a thematic review looking at a sample of services rated Good.
We looked at infection prevention and control measures under the Safe key question. We look at this in all care home inspections even if no concerns or risks have been identified. This is to provide assurance that the service can respond to COVID-19 and other infection outbreaks effectively.
We have found evidence that the provider needs to make improvements. Please see the safe, effective and well-led sections of this full report.
You can see what action we have asked the provider to take at the end of this full report.
You can read the report from our last comprehensive inspection, by selecting the ‘all reports’ link for Medihands Healthcare on our website at www.cqc.org.uk.
Enforcement
We are mindful of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on our regulatory function. This meant we took account of the exceptional circumstances arising as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic when considering what enforcement action was necessary and proportionate to keep people safe as a result of this inspection. We will continue to discharge our regulatory enforcement functions required to keep people safe and to hold providers to account where it is necessary for us to do so.
We have identified breaches in relation to safe care and treatment, staffing, the premises and good governance at this inspection. We have also made two recommendations to the provider to carry out competency checks to assure themselves that staff have the appropriate skills to carry out their duties and to gather feedback from relatives and healthcare professional son a more formal basis. Please see the action we have told the provider to take at the end of this report.
Follow up
We will return to visit as per our re-inspection programme. If we receive any concerning information we may inspect sooner.