Our inspection took place on 21 March 2016 and was unannounced. At our focused inspection on 24 June 2015 we found the provider had followed their action plan to address shortfalls in relation to breaches of Regulations 12, 17 and 19 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014. Adel Grange is a residential home for thirty people, situated in North Leeds. On the day of our inspection there were 27 people using the service. The building is listed and retains many original features. Some alterations have been made to make the home more accessible.
Communal accommodation consists of two lounges and a spacious dining room. Most bedrooms have en-suite facilities and are accessed by a passenger lift. There are some rooms available on the ground floor.
There was a registered manager in post. 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 found the provider had an inconsistent approach to assessment and recording of the risks to people. Some care plans contained detailed risk assessments, however we saw some care plans where risks had not been identified, meaning staff would not be aware of how to ensure the risks to people were adequately mitigated.
Safeguarding was understood by staff, although the provider had not ensured training in this area was kept up to date. We saw records which evidenced some concerns were escalated to external bodies when needed. Accident and incident recording was mainly good, however we found two falls had not been recorded or reported.
Appropriate background checks were carried out before new staff began working in the service. We saw there was no system in place to ensure staffing levels were matched to the current care and support needs in the service. People who used the service, their relatives and staff all expressed concerns that staffing levels were not adequate.
We found the provider was managing people’s medicines safely and kept training in this area up to date, however there was a lack of ongoing checks of staff competency in the administration of medicines and other areas of training.
There was an inconsistent approach to the obtaining of consents from people who used the service. Not all care plans evidenced the provider was undertaking assessments related to the Mental Capacity Act 2008. Where people’s relatives had given consent there was a lack of evidence best interests decisions had been made.
Staff were supported in their roles with regular supervision, however appraisals had not been kept up to date. We saw there was a plan in place to address this. Staff training was not kept up to date in all areas, and the registered manager told us the provider did not provide support to ensure the training programme was adhered to.
We saw people were supported to have access to a wide range of health professionals.
We observed the lunchtime service and saw it was relaxed, with people assisted to make choices in a patient and caring way. One person was supported to eat their meal and we saw the staff member did not provide this support in a caring way.
There was good feedback about staff from people and their relatives, however we were told that agency workers were not always effective in their roles. Our observations of staff practice evidenced some staff worked in a kind and person-centred way, however this was not consistent. We saw several incidences of staff not being mindful of appropriate behaviours or the feelings of the person they were supporting.
We found people’s care plans lacked person centred information relating to their preferred lifestyles, likes and dislikes. Care plans were not always updated to reflect people’s changing needs. Synopsis care plans used by staff did not always contain sufficient guidance to enable them to provide responsive care and support.
There was a programme of activities in place, however the activities co-ordinator was not always available to lead these. They had not been supported to be effective in this role with any training, and there was no budget available to them.
We received consistently positive feedback about the registered manager. They told us they did not always have effective support from the provider to maintain effective leadership in the service.
We looked at maintenance records and the reports from the registered manager’s monthly walk-rounds, however not all items were actioned. The registered manager told us the provider did not always respond to these reports in a timely manner.
The registered manager undertook a range of audits but these were not always kept up to date.
We identified breaches of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014 during this inspection. You can see what action we told the provider to take at the back of the full version of the report.