13 September 2018
During a routine inspection
At our last inspection in December 2015 the service was rated Good overall. At this inspection we found the service improved its responsiveness to Outstanding and remained Good overall.
We found the service was exceptionally responsive to people’s needs. There was a clear emphasis on putting people and their individual needs at the forefront of the service delivery. Staff were empowered and focused on improving people’s lives and well-being. People achieved positive outcomes as result of care received. There was an exceptional activities provision that took account of people’s individual preferences effectively enhancing their sense of purpose.
People were extremely complimentary about the support they had from staff and told us staff were ‘superb’ and that the staff respected what was important to people. Comments from people included, “The staff help me and know what I need, sometimes almost before I know myself” and “The staff seem to know exactly what to do and look after me well”.
The feedback from people’s relatives was also excellent and reflected people’s relatives were ‘delighted’ with the care at the service which left the relatives ‘confident that the family have made the right choice’. An external professional told us, “I would have absolutely no qualms about placing my mother in Austenwood if she required care. I have total confidence that the home is run professionally”.
People knew how to raise concerns and they told us there was nothing they would like to change about the service. The provider demonstrated a proactive and innovative approach to complaints management and the management saw concerns as a way of improving the service.
The staff ensured people were supported to have a dignified death. Staff worked in collaboration with professionals to ensure people receiving end of life were pain free. Staff provided empathy and emotional support to wider families of people receiving end of life care. The management demonstrated proactive approach and put systems in place that ensured people and their relatives were well informed and prepared for the unexpected aspects of people’s deteriorating conditions.
People continued to be safe and they told us they felt safe. Staff had a good understanding of safeguarding matters and knew how to report any concerns. People's medicines were managed appropriately and people received their medicines as prescribed.
People benefitted from skilled and knowledgeable team that received relevant, ongoing training. Staff told us they were well supported and praised the team work. There were sufficient staffing to keep people safe and the provider ensured safe recruitment practices had been followed.
Risks to people, including individual risks, environmental risks as well as infection control risks were all managed appropriately to ensure people were safe. The provider had a system to record and manage accidents and incidents and ensured appropriate action had been taken in response to these. The team used reflection to ensure lessons learnt were considered and to improve the service further.
Staff were compassionate, kind and caring and they developed meaningful rapport with people living at the service. People’s dignity, privacy and confidentiality was respected and people were supported to remain independent as much as possible.
People were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff supported them in the least restrictive way possible; the policies and systems in the service supported this practice and people’s rights to make own decisions were respected.
There were systems in place to ensure people’s needs were assessed prior to admission to the service. People were supported to meet their nutritional needs and to access health professionals as required. The provider ensured plenty of consideration had gone into the decoration and layout of the service. A real homely and peaceful environment had been created with due consideration given to people’s needs. Since our last inspection the service won 2016 Care Home Design Award for its environment.
There was a registered manager running 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.
There was a robust staffing structure that ensured all staff were clear of their roles and responsibilities. This contributed to staff morale and promoted an open and positive atmosphere for all who lived and worked at the service.
People, relatives and staff all told us the service remained well-run. People had opportunities to provide feedback about the running of the service and the registered manager ensured all feedback was acted upon. Staff felt valued, listened to and they demonstrated a sense of pride working at the service.
The provider worked in partnership with other organisations to ensure good practice standards were followed. The registered manager ensured number of audits took place on regular basis. The provider’s quality assurance systems remained effective and contributed to driving a continuous improvement.