This inspection took place on the 8 and 9 March 2016. The first day of our visit was unannounced.Portland House provides accommodation for up to 19 older people, including people living with dementia, who require personal care. There were 19 people using the service at the time of our 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.
People told us they felt safe living at Portland House. Their friends and relatives agreed with them.
The management team were aware of their responsibilities around the safeguarding of people and the staff team had received training on how to keep people safe from harm. Staff members we spoke with were all aware of the actions to take if they were presented with a safeguarding concern.
People’s needs had been assessed before they moved into the service to ensure that they could be met. From these initial assessments plans of care had been developed.
Risks associated with people’s care and support had been assessed to enable the staff team to provide the safest possible support. Where risks had been identified these had, where ever possible, been minimised to better protect people’s health and welfare.
People received their medicines as prescribed by their doctor. Medicines were being appropriately stored and the necessary records were being kept.
Checks had been carried out when new staff members had been employed to make sure they were suitable to work at the service. An induction into the service had been provided for all new staff members and ongoing training was being delivered. This enabled the staff team to provide the care and support that people needed.
People felt there were currently enough members of staff on duty each day because their care and support needs were being met. Their relatives and friends agreed.
People told us the meals served at Portland House were good. People’s nutritional and dietary requirements had been assessed and a nutritionally balanced diet was being provided. For people assessed to be at risk of not getting the food and fluids they needed to keep them well, records had been kept showing their food and fluid intake.
People were supported to maintain good health, have access to healthcare services and receive ongoing healthcare support.
People had been involved in making day to day decisions about their care and support. Where people lacked the capacity to make their own decisions, evidence was seen to demonstrate that decisions had been made for them in their best interest and in consultation with others.
Staff meetings and meetings for the people using the service were being held. This provided people with the opportunity to be involved in how the service was run.
The staff team felt very much supported by the registered manager and the management team and felt able to speak with them if they had a concern of any kind.
The people using the service and their relatives and friends knew what to do if they had a concern of any kind. They were confident that any concern raised would be dealt with properly.
There were systems in place to regularly check the quality and safety of the service being provided and regular checks had been carried out on the environment and on the equipment used to maintain people’s safety.
Throughout our visit we observed the staff team treating people with kindness and they supported them in a caring and considerate way. They involved people in making choices about their care and support and when choices were made, these were respected by the staff team.