30 May 2018
During a routine inspection
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. In this report when we speak about both the registered provider and the registered manager we refer to them as being, 'the registered persons'.
This was the first inspection of the service since it was registered at its new address.
At this inspection we found that there were systems, processes and practices to safeguard people from situations in which they may experience abuse including financial mistreatment. Risks to people’s safety had been assessed, monitored and managed so they were supported to stay safe while their freedom was respected.
Medicines were managed safely and sufficient numbers of suitable care staff had been deployed to complete care calls in the right way. Background checks had been completed before new care staff had been appointed. People were protected by there being arrangements to prevent and control infection and lessons had been learnt when things had gone wrong.
Care staff had been supported to deliver care in line with current best practice guidance. People received the assistance they needed to eat and drink enough to maintain a balanced diet.
People had been supported to live healthier lives by being supported to have suitable access to healthcare services so that they received on-going healthcare support. Suitable arrangements had been made to obtain consent to care and treatment in line with legislation and guidance.
People were treated with kindness, respect and compassion and they were given emotional support when needed. They had also been supported to express their views and be actively involved in making decisions about their care as far as possible. This included access to lay advocates if necessary. Confidential information was kept private.
People received personalised care that was responsive to their needs. As part of this people had been offered opportunities to pursue their hobbies and interests. Care staff recognised the importance of promoting equality and diversity by supporting people to make choices about their lives.
People’s concerns and complaints were listened and responded to in order to improve the quality of care. In addition, suitable provision had been made to support people with there end of life wishes.
There was a positive culture in the service that was open, inclusive and focused upon achieving good outcomes for people. People and relatives benefited from there being a recent addition to the management framework that helped care staff to understand their responsibilities so that risks and regulatory requirements were met.
The views of people who used the service, relatives and care staff had been gathered and acted on to shape any improvements that were made.
The provider had adequate systems in place to monitor and review the quality of care people received. People benefited from the service being able to quickly put problems right and to innovate so that people could consistently receive safe care.
Good team work was promoted and care staff were supported to speak out if they had any concerns about people not being treated in the right way. In addition, the registered persons were actively working in partnership with other agencies to support the development of joined-up care.