19 January 2017
During a routine 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.
At the last full comprehensive inspection on 9 July 2015, we rated the service as Requires Improvement overall. This was because we wanted to make sure improvements were sustained over a period of time following an Inadequate rating in January 2015. At this full comprehensive inspection we found improvements had been made and sustained. There were 30 people using the service at the time of this inspection; four people were in hospital which brought the occupancy down to 26 although people were due to be discharged back to West Park shortly.
We found the service was safe for people who lived there. Staff had received training in how to safeguard people from the risk of harm and abuse and knew how to raise any concerns. People had risk assessments which helped to guide staff in how to minimise risk whilst helping them to maintain their independence.
We found people had their needs assessed and plans of care were developed which helped to guide staff in how to deliver individualised care to them in line with their preferences.
People’s health and nutritional needs were met. We found staff contacted health professionals in a timely way for advice and treatment. The menus provided people with a varied and nutritional diet and any concerns about weight management or swallowing difficulties were discussed with dieticians and speech and language therapists. People told us they liked the meals.
We saw people received their medicines as prescribed. Medicines were ordered in a timely way, stored safely and only administered by qualified nurses or staff who had completed training.
We found people were supported and encouraged to make their own choices and decisions. When people were assessed as not having capacity to make their own decisions, the registered provider and registered manager worked with mental capacity legislation and held best interest meetings with relevant people present to discuss decision-making options.
Staff were recruited safely and in sufficient numbers to ensure that people’s needs were met.
People told us staff were kind and caring to them. We observed staff had developed good relationships with people who used the service and their relatives. People’s privacy and dignity were respected and confidentiality maintained. We saw that personal records were held securely and conversations with health professionals were held in private.
Records showed us staff had access to training, support and supervision. This enabled staff to feel confident when supporting people and knowledgeable about meeting their needs.
There was a quality assurance system which helped to identify shortfalls so these could be addressed quickly. We found the registered manager used this system to learn and improve practice.
The registered provider had a complaints procedure and people who used the service and their relatives felt able to raise concerns knowing they would be addressed.