Archived: Briardene

Updated 30 December 2015

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.

The inspection took place on 20 October 2015 and 3 November 2015 and was unannounced. This meant that the registered provider and registered manager did not know we would be visiting on the first day of the inspection. However, they did know we would be visiting on the second day of the inspection, so that we could be sure that the people and information we needed would be available. The inspection team consisted of one inspector.

Before the inspection we reviewed all of the information we held about the service. We looked at the notifications we had received from the service. Notifications are information about changes, events or incidents that the provider is legally obliged to send us.

The provider had completed and returned a provider information return (PIR) in December 2014. This is a form that asks the provider to give some key information about the service, what the service does well and improvements they plan to make. The registered provider had not been asked to provide an updated PIR at the time of this visit.

During our visit we spoke with 12 people who used the service, the registered manager and three staff. We did not get the opportunity to speak with relatives. However, we left the telephone details of the inspector so that staff who were not available and relatives could contact us should they wish to discuss the care provided.

We reviewed daily activity records and the care files and associated medicine records for three people. We checked the personnel files for three members of staff and looked at records relating to the management of the service including audits, quality questionnaires, staff rotas, staff training planning and maintenance records. We contacted the local authority contracts and commissioning department and Healthwatch to gain their views. Healthwatch gathers the views and experience of people about their local services, and uses that information to help improve services and influence commissioning outcomes for people living in the area.

Updated 30 December 2015

We carried out this inspection over two days on 20 October and 3 November 2015. The visit on the first day of the inspection was unannounced.

We last inspected this service on 25 November 2013 where we found the provider met the regulations we looked at.

Briardene care home provides care for up to 13 people with a learning disability. The home comprises of 13 bedrooms, two communal lounges, two kitchens and a dining room. The service is situated in the centre of Harrogate town with good access to all the local facilities. It is owned by Appleview Homes Limited.

The service has 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 2008 and associated Regulations about how the service is run.

Appleview Homes Limited was in administration, which meant that a court appointed administrator was responsible for the management of the company. The administrator had appointed a management company to oversee the management of the home to ensure that they met the requirements of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 and its regulations until the home changed ownership.

People spoke positively about the registered manager and said they were well looked after and happy. Staff told us that they received good management support from both the registered manager and from staff within the management company. There was an established staff team who knew about people’s individual care needs and provided people with safe, consistent care in consultation with other social and healthcare professionals.

Risks were well managed and were kept under review to ensure that people were protected whilst minimising any restrictions placed upon them. Although no recent appointments had been made we found that there were safe recruitment policies in place to recruit staff safely. Suitable arrangements were in place to support people with the safe administration of their medicines.

Staff were well trained and worked within the principles of the Mental Capacity Act 2005. The manager understood how to apply for an authorisation for a person to be deprived of their liberty lawfully. People had their care needs including their nutritional care needs assessed to ensure the care provided met their care needs and preferences. Care plans were person centred and included detailed descriptions about people’s care needs and how staff should provide their support.

People who used the service could follow their own interests and pursuits and they were encouraged to try new activities and experiences.

Effective management systems were being used to monitor and improve the quality of the service provided and gave people who used the service opportunity to provide feedback on the care they received.