Alderlea Care Home

Updated 11 June 2019

We carried out this inspection under Section 60 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (the Act) as part of our regulatory functions. This inspection was planned to check whether the provider was meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Act, to look at the overall quality of the service, and to provide a rating for the service under the Care Act 2014.

Inspection team: The inspection was carried out by one inspector.

Service and service type: Alderlea Care Home provides accommodation and personal care to a maximum of 40 younger adults and older people.

The service had a manager registered with the Care Quality Commission. This means that they and the provider are legally responsible for how the service is run and for the quality and safety of the care provided.

Notice of inspection: The inspection was unannounced and took place on 23 April 2019.

What we did: Before the inspection we reviewed information available to us about this service. This included details about incidents the provider must notify us of, such as abuse. We sought feedback from the local authority commissioning team. The provider sent us a provider information return prior to the inspection. Providers are required to send us key information about their service, what they do well and improvements they plan to make. This information helps support our inspections. We took this into account when we planned the inspection.

At this inspection we spoke with the registered manager, two care staff, an activities coordinator and a cook. We spoke with two people who used the service, seven relatives and a health care professional. We looked at three people's care records, including their initial assessments, care plans and risk assessments. We looked at medication administration records (MARs) where staff were responsible for administering medicines. We also looked at a selection of documentation about the management and running of the service. This included quality assurance information, audits, recruitment information for three staff, training records, policies and procedures, complaints and staff rotas.

Updated 11 June 2019

About the service: Alderlea Care Home is a residential care home that provides personal care for up to 40 people aged 65 and over. At the time of the inspection 27 people were living at the service.

People’s experience of using this service: People and their relatives gave positive feedback about their experience of the service and the care they received. They told us they felt very safe and secure with the staff. People were supported by a consistent team of staff and were protected from avoidable harm and abuse by staff who could identify and report safeguarding concerns.

People's received their medicines in line with their prescriptions. Staff understood people's needs and risks to their safety. Risk assessments guided staff on how to safely meet people's needs.

There were enough skilled and experienced staff to meet people's needs. New staff received an induction to their role. Staff received appropriate training and support to enable them to perform their roles effectively. Recruitment processes were in place and followed. Staff were respectful and built trusting relationships with people. They supported people to maintain their dignity and independence. People were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff supported them in the least restrictive way possible; the policies and systems in the service supported this practice.

Staff were trained in mental capacity legislation and understood their responsibilities. They gained consent before providing care and supported people to make their own decisions and choices. Care plans contained current and personalised information that supported staff to provide person-centred care.

Staff worked with health and social care professionals and responded to their advice, to ensure people's needs were met. People were encouraged to pursue their interests and to maintain important relationships. People had end of life care plans in place which identified their wishes.

People were confident their concerns or complaints would be addressed promptly and processes in place aided this. The registered manager was committed to providing a high-quality, person-centred service. They had an open and honest approach and supported staff. The registered manager used audits to monitor the quality and safety of the service. They listened to people's feedback and responded to issues and concerns to continually improve the service.

For more details, please see the full report which is on the CQC website at www.cqc.org.uk

Rating at last inspection: This was the first inspection for this service under the new provider..

Why we inspected: This was a planned inspection.

Follow up: We will continue to monitor intelligence we receive about the service until we return to visit as per our re-inspection programme. If any concerning information is received, we may inspect sooner.