Heathercroft is a residential care home that provides accommodation and personal support for up to five people with learning disabilities. The home is situated in a quiet residential street and has all ordinary homely amenities, including a garden.This unannounced inspection took place on 22 May 2017. At the previous inspection in November 2014 we found the service to be meeting required standards and the overall rating was "Good".
The home 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 and associated Regulations about how the service is run. The registered manager was present on duty for the inspection.
People and their relatives told us they felt safe at the service and knew how to raise any concerns. Staff knew how to recognise signs of potential abuse and followed the right reporting procedures. People were supported by staff who received appropriate training and support to care for people safely and protect their human rights. The service had procedures in place whereby they assessed and identified risks to people’s health and safety. There were sufficient staff numbers to meet people’s needs and staff were employed after suitable checks had been made.
The service had systems in place for the safe storage, administration and recording of medicines. People were protected by the prevention and control of infection through the implementation of the home’s policies and procedures.
People were supported by staff who received appropriate training and support to do their job well. The service had an induction period for new staff and all staff had completed mandatory training. Staff felt supported by managers and people felt confident in the ability of staff to meet their needs.
Staff were aware of the requirements of the Mental Capacity Act (2005) and the Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS) that ensured people’s rights were protected. Staff ensured that people’s consent was sought before providing care and acted in people’s best interests where people lacked the capacity to make informed decisions.
People were supported to eat and drink enough and maintain a balanced diet and people’s preferences and dietary needs were being met. People made positive comments about the food at the service and staff were attentive and supportive to people during mealtimes.
People were supported to maintain good health, have access to healthcare services and receive on-going healthcare support. There were strong links with GP and other external health professionals and people’s care records contained accurate details of their health needs.
The design and layout of the home ensured that people could have access to all areas, including gardens, and receive visitors.
The staff and manager developed positive, caring relationships with people using the service through talking and listening to people in a way that people understood. Care records focused on people as individuals and gave clear information for staff. People who used the service and their relatives were complimentary about the caring attitude of staff and the quality of care they received.
The service supported people to express their views and be actively involved in making decisions about their care, treatment and support. Care records were written in a way people could understand and people and their families were involved in discussions about how staff should care for them.
People’s privacy and dignity were respected and promoted through the service’s policies and procedures, staff training and practice. People told us they felt respected and we saw how people’s privacy and dignity were respected when they were receiving care or talking with staff.
People received personalised care that was responsive to their needs. People were supported to have care plans that reflected how they would like to receive their care, treatment and support. These included their personal history, individual preferences, interests and aspirations, and aimed to make sure they had as much choice and control as possible.
People were supported to use and maintain links with the wider community, for example, to visit the local area, retain membership of clubs and education and receive external visitors.
The service had systems in place to allow people to raise any concerns and voice complaints in a way that was convenient and manageable for people. The service’s complaints procedure enabled the service to routinely listen and learn from people’s experiences, concerns and complaints and resolve them appropriately.
The service promoted a positive culture that was person-centred, open, inclusive and empowering for people. People and their relatives described the atmosphere in the home as open and friendly and they felt that communication was good between staff and people. Staff felt that the culture of the service was open and transparent, with clear lines of accountability which enabled staff to share ideas and raise any problems. Staff felt confident in their ability to discuss any concern about the quality of care with the manager or other senior colleague.
There was a registered manager in post. People and staff felt the service was well-managed and that there were clear and transparent processes in place for staff to account for their decisions, actions, behaviours and performance. There were systems in place to carry out quality and safety audits and checks and we saw that these were carried out regularly.
The service had systems in place to ask for and collect the views of people, their relatives and staff in order to regularly review how people experienced their care and how the quality of care and service could be improved. The manager had developed links with professional organisations in order to continually update knowledge and had established strong links with the local authority, safeguarding teams and other professionals in order to ensure that people received appropriate care and support.
Records and information were held securely and confidentially.