Harper House - Wolverhampton

Updated 16 April 2019

The inspection:

We carried out this inspection under Section 60 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (the Act) as part of our regulatory functions. This inspection was planned to check whether the provider was meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Act, to look at the overall quality of the service, and to provide a rating for the service under the Care Act 2014.

Inspection team:

This inspection was carried out by one adult social care inspector and one expert by experience. An expert by experience is a person who has personal experience of using or caring for someone who uses this type of care service. The expert by experience had cared for people with dementia with long term health conditions and older people who used regulated services.

Service and service type:

The service is a ‘care home’. People in care homes receive accommodation and personal care as a single package under one contractual agreement. CQC regulated both the premises and the care provided; both were looked at during this inspection.

The home accommodates 15 people in one adapted building. At the time of the inspection, 15 people were living in the home.

The service had a manager registered with the Care Quality Commission. This means that they and the provider are legally responsible for how the service is run and for the quality and safety of the care provided.

Notice of inspection:

This was an unannounced, scheduled inspection.

What we did:

Providers are required to send us key information about their service, what they do well, and improvements they plan to make. This information helps support our inspections. Before our inspection we looked at the Provider Information Return (PIR) and reviewed all of the information we held about the home, including notifications of incidents that the provider had sent us.

During the inspection we spoke with six people, one relative, one visitor and four healthcare professionals to help form our judgements. We spoke with a GP, a Community Psychiatric Nurse, a Podiatrist and an Optician. We observed the care and support provided and the interaction between staff and people using the Short Observational Framework for Inspection (SOFI). SOFI is a way of observing care to help us understand the experience of people who could not talk with us.

We spoke with the registered manager, the deputy manager and two staff members. We looked at the following records:

• two people’s care records and associated documents

• two staff files

• previous inspection reports

• staff rotas

• staff training and supervision records

• health and safety paperwork

• accident and incident records

• statement of purpose

• complaints and compliments

• minutes from staff meetings

• a selection of the provider’s policies

• quality audits

• fire risk assessments

• safeguarding records

• infection control records.

Updated 16 April 2019

About the service:

Harper House is a residential care home that was providing accommodation and personal care to 15 people aged 65 and over at the time of the inspection.

Harper House 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 care provided, and both were looked at during this inspection.

People’s experience of using this service:

• The provider had processes in place for recruitment, staffing levels, medicines management, infection control and upkeep of the premises which protected people from unsafe situations and harm.

• Staff understood their responsibilities to protect people from abuse and discrimination. They knew to report any concerns and ensure action was taken. The registered manager worked with the local authority safeguarding adults team to protect people.

• Staff were trained and supported to be skilled and efficient in their roles. They were very happy about the level of training and support they received and showed competence when supporting people.

• Staff promoted people’s dignity and privacy. Staff provided person-centred support by listening to people and engaging them at every opportunity. Staff were very kind and caring and people using the service were happy with the support they received.

• Support plans were detailed and reviewed with the person and staff who supported the person. Staff looked to identify best practise and used this to people’s benefit. Staff worked with and took advice from healthcare professionals. People’s health care needs were met.

• People had a variety of internal activities (such as games and karaoke) and external activities which they enjoyed on a regular basis.

• 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 supported this practice.

• The premises provided people with a variety of spaces for their use with relevant facilities to meet their needs. Bedrooms were very individual and age and gender appropriate.

• The provider sought the views of people and took opportunities to improve the service. Staff were supervised, supported and clear about what was expected of them. Audits and checks were carried out, so any problem could be identified and rectified.

For more details, please see the full report which is on the CQC website at www.cqc.org.uk.

Rating at last inspection:

At the last inspection the service was rated Good (08 October 2016). At this inspection, the service remained Good.

Why we inspected:

This was a planned inspection to confirm that this service remained Good.