Brandon Trust - 261 Passage Road Care Home

Updated 30 June 2018

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

This inspection took place on 31 May 2018 and was unannounced. One inspector carried out the inspection.

Before the inspection, we looked at all the information we had about the service. This information included the statutory notifications that the provider had sent to CQC. A notification is information about important events which the service is required to send us by law.

We read the Provider Information Record (PIR) and previous inspection reports before our visit. The PIR was information given to us by the provider. This enabled us to ensure we looked closely at any potential areas of concern. The PIR was detailed and gave us information about how the service ensured it was safe, effective, caring, responsive and well led.

We met four people who were living in the home. The staff we spoke with included the registered manager, a team leader and two support staff. We saw how staff engaged with people they supported.

We viewed two people’s support plans, medicine records and risk assessments. We checked staff training and employment information, supervision records and staff duty rosters.

We also viewed a number of other records relating to the way the home was run. These included survey feedback, quality audits, complaints information and health and safety records.

Updated 30 June 2018

The inspection took place on 31 May 2018 and was unannounced. At our last inspection we had found two breaches of the regulations. We had found that some people told us a staff member was "bossy" in their manner towards them. Action had been taken to address these concerns. We had also found that fire drills had not been regularly carried out. This put people at risk as in the event of a fire as they may not know what actions to take to be safe. Finally we had found that the governance system for auditing and monitoring quality and safety was not being used effectively. The failings identified at this visit had not been picked up.

261 Passage Road 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. 261 Passage Road care home accommodates five people in one adapted building.

The care service has been developed and designed in line with the values that underpin the Registering the Right Support and other best practice guidance. These values include choice, promotion of independence and inclusion.

There was a registered manager for the service. 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.

People told us staff were not ‘bossy’ and were kind and caring towards them. We also saw that the staff we met were kind caring and respectful towards everyone who lived at the home.This showed that people felt safe at the home and with the staff who supported them. People were protected from abuse and the risk of harm. This was because staff were properly trained and knew how to keep people safe.

The provider’s system for the management of people’s medicines ensured they were looked after properly. When people wanted to be, they were supported to be responsible for their own medicines.

Fire drills had now been regularly carried out. This helped minimise risk in the event of a fire as it meant people knew what actions to take to be safe.

People were supported to make choices and have control of their lives. The staff team supported them in the least restrictive ways possible. There were policies and systems in use that supported staff to do this.

People were well supported with their physical health needs and their overall well-being was monitored. If it was needed the staff supported people to see health professionals promptly.

People were supported to choose what they wanted to eat and drink to maintain good health. Menus were put in place based on each person’s likes and dislikes. People were encouraged by the staff to maintain their independence. The staff team respected people’s privacy and dignity.

People were cared for by a consistent team of staff. The staff knew and understood people’s individual needs well. People looked relaxed talking with staff members and raised any issues or concerns with them.

Care and support was flexible and staff responded to people’s individual needs or wishes. Activities were personalised to people’s preferences and interests. Care plans contained useful information to help staff provide the care people need in the ways they preferred.

The quality checking system in place for auditing and monitoring quality and safety was now being used much more effectively. Failings and shortfalls in the service were swiftly picked up and addressed. For example, staff performance issues were identified as well as shortfalls in some record keeping. Actions were being put in place around both these areas.