Monkscroft Care Centre

Updated 5 July 2018

We carried out this inspection 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.

This was a comprehensive inspection. The inspection took place on 21 and 22 May 2018 and was unannounced. It was completed by two adult social care inspectors and an expert by experience.

Before the inspection visit we reviewed all the information we held about the home since the last inspection in January 2016. This included all statutory notifications and the Provider Information Return (PIR). Statutory notifications must, by law, be sent to us by the provider. These inform us of important and significant events which have happened in the home. We used information the provider sent us in the PIR to help plan the inspection. This is information we require providers to send us at least once annually, to give us some key information about the service, what the service does well and improvements they plan to make.

During the inspection we spent time walking around the home and observing how staff interacted with people. We used the Short Observational Framework for Inspection (SOFI). SOFI is a way of observing care to help us understand the experience of people who could not talk with us.

During the inspection we spoke with 16 people who used the service and eight relatives. We reviewed the care records of seven people. These included information collected about their life history, support plans, risk assessments, organisational records, staff rotas and other records relating to the management of the service and other care and treatment related information. We reviewed six recruitment records for staff. We also spoke with the registered and area manager and nine members of care staff. We sought the views of commissioners of the service and three health care professionals.

Updated 5 July 2018

This inspection was completed on 21 and 22 May 2108 and was unannounced.

Monkscroft Care Centre is a ‘care home’. People in care homes receive accommodation and nursing or personal care as single package under one contractual agreement. CQC regulates both the premises and the care provided, and both were looked at during this inspection. Monkscroft Care Centre accommodates up to 80 people in one adapted building. There were 75 people at Monkscroft Care Centre at the time of the inspection. Monkscroft Care Centre is set over two floors and divided into four units known as households in the home. Each household has a small kitchen and adjacent dining room and a variety of lounges and quiet areas to sit in. Each household had access to a secured outside space. The home had a shop, cinema and hairdressers. People could also use the hobbies, music and sensory room.

There was a registered manager in post at 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 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 and associated Regulations about how the service is run

The previous inspection was completed in December 2015 and the service was rated Good overall. At this inspection the service is now Outstanding.

Risk assessments were updated to ensure people were supported in a safe manner and risks were minimised. Where people had suffered an accident, action had been taken to ensure the on-going safety of the person. There were sufficient staffing levels to ensure safe care and treatment.

Staff had received training appropriate to their role. Staff had received training around safeguarding and were confident to raise any concerns relating to potential abuse or neglect. The administration and management of medicines was safe. There were sufficient numbers of staff working at Monkscroft Care Centre. There was a robust recruitment process to ensure suitable staff were recruited.

People were supported to access health professionals when required. They could choose what they liked to eat and drink and were supported on a regular basis to participate in meaningful activities. People were supported in an individualised way that encouraged them to be as independent as possible.

People and their relatives were all positive about the care and support they received. They told us staff were exceptionally caring and kind and they felt safe living in the home. We observed staff supporting people in a caring and patient way. Staff knew people they supported well and were able to describe what they like to do and how they liked to be supported. People were supported sensitively with an emphasis on promoting their rights to privacy, dignity, choice and independence. Relatives told us they felt the home went above and beyond to ensure people had the best quality of life. We received no negative feedback. Staff told us there was an open culture and they enjoyed working at the home.

The service was highly responsive to people’s needs. Care plans were person centred to guide staff to provide consistent, high quality care and support. Specific focus was given to getting to know each person as an individual. There was an emphasis of what was important to them. People and their relatives were encouraged to give their views and raise any concerns through a range of feedback implemented by the provider. Daily records were detailed and provided evidence of person centred care.

The service was well led. Quality assurance checks were in place and identified actions to improve the service. Staff and relatives spoke positively about the management team. People’s and their relatives views were sought through regular meetings and questionnaires. People were actively involved in striving to improve the service.