Archived: Marine Parade

18 Marine Parade is a residential care home for seven people with mental health conditions. The service is a detached building situated in a residential area of Whitstable.

18 Marine Parade is a ‘care home’. 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.

Rating at last inspection

At our last inspection we rated the service good. At this inspection we found the evidence continued to support the rating of good and there was no evidence or information from our inspection and ongoing monitoring that demonstrated serious risks or concerns. This inspection report is written in a shorter format because our overall rating of the service has not changed since our last inspection.

Rating at this inspection

At this inspection we found the service remained Good.

Why the service is rated Good

Staff had received safeguarding training, to protect people from potential harm and abuse. Risks to people had been assessed, and mitigated, with a focus on supporting people to take positive risks. People and their relatives told us there were sufficient staff to keep people safe. People’s medicines were stored, administered and disposed of safely. Improvements had been made when things went wrong, and people were protected by the prevention and control of infection.

People’s needs were met, and staff worked to deliver effective care, following good practice, and working with internal and external agencies. Staff had the knowledge and experience to deliver good outcomes to the people living at the service, and new training was sourced when required. People were supported to live healthier lives, staff encouraged them to be active and they were supported to be as independent as possible in terms of, for example, choosing, purchasing and preparing food. The environment had been adapted to meet people’s individual needs. People were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff supported them in the least restrictive way possible; the policies and systems in the service support this practice.

We observed people being treated with kindness and compassion. Staff had time to have meaningful interactions with people, giving them emotional support when they needed it. People were encouraged to be as independent as possible, and supported to make decisions about their care and treatment. Staff respected people’s privacy and supported them to maintain relationships with those that mattered to them.

People received personalised care that was responsive to their needs. People told us they took part in activities they enjoyed, and accessed the community as frequently as they wanted to. There were systems in place to monitor and respond to people’s concerns, which the provider used to improve the service. Staff had provided support to people at the end of their lives.

People, staff and healthcare professionals told us the service was well run. At the time of our inspection, there was a registered manager in post. 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. There was a positive culture at the service, and staff were united in their commitment to deliver the best outcomes for people. The registered manager understood and met their regulatory responsibility. The registered manager worked in partnership with other agencies, sought feedback from people and acted on their comments to improve the service.

18 Marine Parade provides care and accommodation to up to seven adults with enduring mental illness. The premises looks and feels like a normal home, is well decorated and tastefully furnished. People were enabled to manage their mental health and recovery if they became unwell by the support provided by staff in the service. There were seven people using the service at the time of our inspection.

The service 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.

CQC is required by law to monitor the operation of the Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards. The registered manager and staff showed that they understood their responsibilities under the Mental Capacity Act 2005 and Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS).

All of the people we talked with were very happy with the care and support they got from staff. They liked their home and told us the staff were kind and caring. Staff respected people in the way they addressed them and helped them to move around the service.

There were enough staff with the skills required to meet people’s needs. Staff were recruited using procedures designed to protect people from the employment of unsuitable staff.

Staff had been trained to recognise and respond to the signs of abuse. Discussions with them confirmed that they knew the action to take in the event of any suspicion of abuse. Staff understood the whistle blowing policy and how to use it. They were confident they could raise any concerns with the registered provider or outside agencies if this was needed.

Staff were trained to meet people’s needs and were supported through regular supervision and an annual appraisal to support them to carry out their roles.

Staff were long serving, friendly and very knowledgeable about mental health matters and the needs and requirements of people using the service. Staff involved people in planning their own care. Staff supported people in making arrangements to meet their health needs. People had access to health services and referrals for additional support were made when people needed it.

Medicines were managed, stored, disposed of and administered safely. People received their medicines in a safe way when they needed them and as prescribed.

People received the support they needed to eat and drink. They had a choice of meals from a varied menu. Mealtimes were a relaxed and pleasant experience for people.

People’s care was planned and delivered in a personalised way. The service had been organised in a way that promoted a personalised approach to people’s activities. People were involved in making decisions about their care and treatment and had been supported to decide how they would like to be occupied, for example social activities and going out. People were given individual support to take part in their preferred hobbies and interests.

There were risk assessments in place for the environment, and for each individual person who received care. Assessments identified people’s specific needs, and showed how risks could be minimised. The risks to individuals, for example in moving safely around the service, had been assessed and action taken to reduce them. Staff understood how to keep people safe. The registered provider had taken action to ensure the premises were safe and met people’s needs.

There were systems in place to review accidents and incidents and make any relevant improvements as a result.

People knew how to make a complaint if they needed to. Complaints were responded to quickly and appropriately and people were given feedback in a way they could understand.

The registered manager had maintained their skills and personal development through their continuing professional development. There were systems in place to obtain people’s views about the quality of the service and the care they received. People were listened to and their views were taken into account in the way the service was run.

People who used the service told us they were respected. People told us and we saw, that they could bring their own furniture and possessions for their rooms.

The support that we observed being given to people matched what their care plan said they needed. Care and support was delivered in a person focused manner and we saw that staff created opportunities for people to make daily choices and decisions. People told us that they were asked how they wished to be supported and were consulted at every stage.

People who used the service told us that they felt safe and we saw that the home had a copy of the multidisciplinary adult protection policies and procedures (MAPPA) in place and that it was easily accessible to staff.

Staff told us and we found that they were supported to contiue to develop their roles through regular supervision and opportunities to seek further training.

We found that the provider had regularly monitored the quality of service and had implemented ways to gather feedback on the service from people, as well as informal discussions with people about how to continually improve the service.

People told us that they felt safe and well looked after. People told us that they could express any problems to the staff who would listen and act. People said that they thought the staff were kind and caring. Staffing was planned around individual needs and activities. People told us 'The staff are very good, kind and gentle. They are very helpful' and 'The staff here listen and give you advice. The manager is very efficient.'

People looked relaxed in the company of each other and staff. We saw that people took part in a range of community based activities that they enjoyed and were involved in the local and wider community. People had support to take part in the cooking and cleaning and had the opportunity to go food shopping and prepare their own meals. Everyone was fully involved and included in the running of the service. People told us about their planned trip to London and said they had enjoyed pantomimes and theatre shows.

People's health needs were supported and the service worked closely with health and social care professionals to maintain and improve people's health and well being.