This inspection took place on 7 and 8 July 2016 and was unannounced. Lindisfarne Chester-le-Street Residential provides accommodation for up to 30 people who require personal care. It does not provide nursing care. The home is set in its own gardens in a residential area near to public transport routes, local shops and facilities.
At the last inspection in September 2013 we found there was a breach of Regulation 15 HSCA 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2010 – Premises. We asked the provider to take action to make improvements to the premises and this action had been completed.
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.
Staff who worked in the home had undergone the required checks to ensure they were fit to work with vulnerable adults.
We found staff had been appropriately trained to give people who used the service their medicines and staff had been checked to see if they were competent to do this.
There were regular checks including fire checks carried out in the building to ensure people who used the service were kept safe in the home.
Staff had been trained in safeguarding and any concerns about people were checked when the registered manager met staff for supervision meetings.
The home met the requirements of the Mental Capacity Act (MCA) and had made appropriate applications to the required body to deprive people of their liberty, where it was in their best interests to do so, and to keep them safe.
We checked people’s weights and found that people who used the service had maintained their weight. This meant their food intake met their needs.
Relatives and people living in the home described the staff as very caring. We observed staff treating people with dignity and respect. Staff were able to support and calm people who were distressed.
We saw people’s care plans were person centred and contained information specific to them. The care plans provided detailed information and guidance to staff to enable them to provide the right care for people.
The registered manager had put in place one page documents which detailed each person’s like and dislikes as well as the sentences they would use to discuss issues. Staff were guided on how to work with people in a positive, encouraging fashion which avoid undermining their confidence and well-being.
Staff engaged with people who used the service during the inspection and provided activities throughout the day. We saw people respond positively to staff who spent time with individual people.
There had been no complaints since our last inspection. We found people knew how to make a complaint but they told us they had not felt the need to raise any concerns.
The manager used six values with the staff to drive the service. They were care, compassion, competence, communication, courage and commitment.
Compliments were given to us from relatives, people who used the service and staff about the manager.
We found the registered manager had carried out surveys to monitor the quality of the service. The surveys showed people were largely positive about the service.
We found the service worked with other professionals and family members to meet people’s needs.