Background to this inspection
Updated
21 June 2016
We carried out this inspection visit under Section 60 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 as part of our regulatory functions. This inspection was planned to check 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. Our inspection was unannounced and was the homes first comprehensive rated inspection. The 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.
We checked the information we held about the service and the provider. This included notifications that the provider had sent to us about incidents at the service and information we had received from the public. We also spoke with the local authority who provided us with current monitoring information. We used this information to formulate our inspection plan.
The provider completed a Provider Information Return (PIR). This is a form that asks the provider to give some key information about the service, what the service does well and improvements they plan to make.
We spoke with five people who used the service and four relatives. Some people were unable to tell us their experience of their life in the home, so we observed how the staff interacted with people in communal areas.
We also spoke with five members of care staff, an apprentice, a nurse, the cook, the registered manager and the provider. We reviewed three staff files to see how staff were recruited. We looked at the training records to see how staff were trained and supported to deliver care appropriate to meet each person’s needs. We looked at the care plans for five people, to ensure that care that was being provided was in line with the needs of the individual. We looked at the systems the provider had in place to ensure the quality of the service was continuously monitored and reviewed to drive improvement.
Updated
21 June 2016
This inspection was unannounced and took place on 25 May 2016. The service was registered to provide accommodation for up to 29 people. People who used the service had physical health needs and/or were living with dementia. At the time of our inspection 28 people were using the service.
There was a registered manager in post. 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 and relatives were extremely positive about the care and support provided at the home.
We saw that there were enough staff with the right skills, training and support to meet the number and needs of people living at the service. Staff told us they felt valued by the manager and the provider.
Staff had positive relationships with people and understood their needs. this included their
preferred routines and wishes.
Staff understood how to give people choices. The manager and their staff understood and worked within the principles of the Mental Capacity Act to ensure people's capacity was assessed and monitored. Where people lacked capacity, any decisions were considered with people who were important to the person as part of a best interest decision.
The home was cleaned and decorated to a high standard and homely features made it welcoming. Systems were used to ensure the environment was kept clean and safe with audits being completed on all aspects of the building and equipment.
There was a programme of activities which included things people had identified as what they wishes to do. The provider had introduced a ‘make it happen’ campaign to ensure each person was able to make a wish and be supported by the home and relatives to make it happen.
Medicines were well managed and stored in a safe manner. We saw people received their medicines in a timely way and as required people were offered pain relief.
Care and support was planned to ensure that risks were assessed and monitored. People's choices and preferences were included within care plans to ensure staff understood how to assist people in way they preferred and had their wishes met.
People were protected from harm because staff were only recruited once they had all the checks in place to ensure they were suitable to work with vulnerable people. Staff understood what may constitute abuse and how and to whom they should report any concerns.
People told us they enjoyed the meals and had a choice. When people required support this was provided along with nutritional supplements to maintain or increase people’s weight.
People and relatives felt able to raise any concerns and we saw that complaint shads been responded to.
The registered manager provider worked hands on within the home and spent time talking with people, their visitors and with staff to ensure their views were heard. Quality assurance
systems included audits on the environment and documentation relating to people's daily care and
support.
The manager and provider understood the requirements of their registration and we saw this was followed.