8 December 2015
During a routine inspection
The service was registered to provide accommodation and nursing care for up to 47 people. Some people who used the service were living with dementia. At the time of our inspection 28 people were using the service.
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 did not always receive the care and support they required in a timely way. Staffing levels were not always sufficient to support people individually and in their preferred way.
People’s safety risks were identified and reviewed but were not always managed to ensure people’s comfort and well-being. There were times when people were at risk of harm due to staff not managing the risk in a safe and consistent way. Staffing levels were at a minimum so there were delays to people receiving the right care and support at the right time. This also meant that people’s individual care needs, support requirements and preferences were not always met.
People’s medicines were managed safely, which meant people received the medicines they needed when they needed them.
Staff were aware of the actions they needed to take if they had concerns regarding people’s safety. Procedures were in place that ensured concerns about people’s safety were appropriately reported to the registered manager and local safeguarding team.
The provider had a recruitment process in place. Staff were only employed after all essential pre-employment safety checks had been satisfactorily completed.
People were supported to make important decisions about their care and treatment. Some people who used the service were unable to make certain decisions about their care. In these circumstances the legal requirements of the Mental Capacity Act 2005 (MCA) and the Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS) were being followed.
Staff received training that provided them with the knowledge and skills to meet people’s needs.
People told us they enjoyed the food and were provided with suitable amounts of food and drink of their choice. Health care professionals were contacted when additional support and help was required to ensure people’s health care needs were met.
People were treated with kindness, compassion and respect however, contact with people was often limited to when people needed support with specific care tasks. Staff generally promoted people’s independence and right to privacy.
People told us they enjoyed a varied and range of social and leisure activities that were provided. These were arranged either on a one to one basis or in groups. People could choose whether they wished to participate or not and staff respected their choices.
The service had a registered manager; they were aware of the requirements of their registration with us and notified us of significant events related to care provision. Plans were in place to introduce new systems and processes so that continual improvements could be made to enhance the quality and safety of the service.