Docking House

Updated 12 September 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. We checked whether the provider was meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Act. We looked at the overall quality of the service and provided a rating for the service under the Care Act 2014.

Inspection team

The inspection team consisted of one inspector and an 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.

Service and service type

Docking 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 the care provided, and both were looked at during this inspection.

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.

This inspection was unannounced.

What we did before the inspection

We used information we held about the service which included notifications they sent us to plan this inspection. We also received information from professionals involved with monitoring the service. We used the information the provider sent us in the provider information return. This is information providers are required to send us with key information about their service, what they do well, and improvements they plan to make. This information helps support our inspections.

During the inspection

We spoke with nine people who used the service, four relatives and a visiting community healthcare professional. We also spoke with six members of staff including the registered manager, care staff and nominated individual. The nominated individual is responsible for supervising the management of the service on behalf of the provider.

We conducted observations of how people received their care in communal areas of the service. We used the Short Observational Framework for Inspection (SOFI) during our visit. SOFI is a way of observing care to help us understand the experience of people who could not talk with us.

We looked at records in relation to people who used the service including care plans, daily records and medicines administration charts. We also looked records relating to the management of the service, policies and systems for monitoring quality.

Updated 12 September 2019

About the service

Docking House is a residential care home providing personal care and accommodation to 36 people at the time of the inspection, most of whom were living with dementia. The service can support up to 39 people in one adapted building.

People’s experience of using this service and what we found

There was enough staff on duty to enable people to remain safe and receive care in a timely way. The environment was safe, and people had access to appropriate equipment where needed. Peoples were supported to take their medicines safely.

Staff had received appropriate training and support to enable them to carry out their role safely. Support was provided to people so that their health was well managed, and staff had positive links with healthcare professionals which promoted wellbeing for them. People were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff supported them in the least restrictive way possible and in their best interests; the policies and systems in the service supported this practice.

Staff sought peoples consent before providing them with care and worked within the guidelines of the Mental Capacity Act 2005.

Staff were kind and caring and promoted people’s dignity. Staff understood the importance of treating people with respect and ensured they did this.

People’s records clearly identified support needs and preferences. Staff provided effective care for people which met their needs through person-centred care planning. Records accurately reflected the care that people had received. People actively participated in a range of enrichment activities. Complaints were managed in line with the providers stated procedure. People at the end of their lives were cared for to ensure they remained comfortable and supported in line with their own planned wishes.

Information from audits, incidents and quality checks was used to drive continuous improvements to the service people received. Staff were motivated and enjoyed strong team work, they felt well supported by the registered manager. People and their relatives told us that the registered manager and providers senior managers were visible, open and approachable.

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

Rating at last inspection and update

The last rating for this service was requires improvement (published 30 August 2018) where we identified a breach of Regulation 12 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014. The provider completed an action plan after the last inspection to show what they would do and by when to improve. At this inspection we found improvements had been made and the provider was no longer in breach of this regulation.

Why we inspected

This was a planned inspection based on the previous rating.

The overall rating for the service has changed from requires improvement to good. This is based on the findings at this inspection.

You can read the report from our last comprehensive inspection, by selecting the ‘all reports’ link for Docking House on our website at www.cqc.org.uk.