The inspection took place on 11 and 17 August 2015 and was unannounced on the first day. Our last scheduled inspection at this service took place in April 2014 when no breaches of legal requirements were identified.
Swinton Grange is situated in Swinton, South Yorkshire. The home provides accommodation for people who require nursing or personal care. The service is provided by Hermes Care Ltd. It can accommodate up to 27 people who are living with dementia. The home has bedrooms on three floors of the building.
The service had a registered manager in post at the time of our inspection. 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.
We looked at the storage of medicines and found some items were not stored correctly. Temperatures were not taken of the room which stored the medicine trolley. This was a breach of regulation. You can see what action we told the provider to take at the back of the full version of this report.
We saw a protocol was in place for medicines which were prescribed on an ‘as required’ basis. We saw that people who required this type of medication had a care plan explaining why this had been prescribed and when to administer it.
The service had procedures in place to safeguard people from abuse. Staff were knowledgeable about how to recognise and report abuse.
Care and support was planned and delivered in a way that ensured people were safe. We saw support plans included areas of risk. However one person’s care plan did not contain relevant information. This meant their safety could be compromised.
We saw there were enough staff with the right skills, knowledge and experience to meet people’s needs.
The service had robust arrangements in place for recruiting staff. Pre-employment checks were carried out prior to a person starting work with the company.
We looked at files belonging to three staff and found training certificates were in place. The registered manager showed us a training matrix which indicated what training had been completed and what was required.
Staff had an awareness of the Mental Capacity Act 2005 and had received training in this area. Staff were clear that when people had the mental capacity to make their own decisions, this would be respected.
People who used the service were supported to have sufficient to eat and drink and to maintain a balanced diet.
We observed staff interacting with people. It was clear that staff knew people well and they offered and respected people’s choices and preferences. The home had a very homely atmosphere and people appeared comfortable with staff.
Care plans included areas of support such as personal care, communication, eating and drinking, and consent. Care plans were regularly reviewed to ensure they were applicable to the person’s needs.
The service had a complaints procedure and people knew how to raise concerns.
The registered manager was supported by a team of nurses, one being the deputy manager. One nurse was on duty at all times, they managed the shift and supported the staff group and people who used the service.
We saw various audits had taken place to make sure policies and procedures were being followed. However, actions were not always clearly identified and recorded. The audit only gave space for yes or no answers.
There was evidence that people were consulted about the service provided.