Archived: Meads House Residential Care Home

Updated 17 August 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 checked 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 inspection took place on the 5th June 2018 and was unannounced.

The inspection team consisted of two inspectors and an expert by experience. An expert-by-experience is a person who has personal experience of using or caring for someone who uses this type of care service. At this inspection the expert by experience had experience in supporting older people with dementia.

We used information the provider sent us in the Provider Information Return. This is information we require providers to send us at least once annually to give some key information about the service, what the service does well and improvements they plan to make.

We reviewed other information we held about the service. We considered the information which had been shared with us by the local authority and other people, looked at any safeguarding concerns raised and notifications which had been submitted. A notification is information about important events the provider is required to tell us about by law. This is necessary so that, where needed, the Care Quality Commission (CQC) can take follow up action.

During the inspection, we met with people living at the service. We spoke with three people living at the service and two relatives. We spoke with two staff members and the registered manager.

We reviewed care records for four people and ‘pathway tracked’ two of them to understand how their care was being delivered in line with this.

We reviewed staff training, supervision and recruitment records. We also looked at medicines records, risk assessments, accidents and incident records. We also reviewed complaints and compliments documents, quality audits, policies and procedures, staff rotas and other records related to the management of the service.

Updated 17 August 2018

This inspection site visit took place on 5th June 2018 and was unannounced.

Meads House is registered to provide personal care for up to 16 older people living with dementia. At the time of the inspection there were 13 people living at the service.

Meads House is a care home. People in care homes receive accommodation and nursing or personal care as a single package under one contractual agreement. The Care Quality Commission (CQC) regulates both the premises and the care provided, and both were looked at during this inspection.

We last inspected the service in October 2015. At that inspection the home was rated Good across all domains. At this inspection we found that the service had not sustained this in all areas. The service now has an overall rating of Requires Improvement.

The service had 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 that the environment of the service did not appear to have been adapted to help meet the needs of people living with dementia to promote their independence.

We found the activities recorded and offered to people on a daily basis were not always personalised and inclusive to meet the needs of men and women living at Meads House.

There was a lack of evidence to show how good practice guidance was proactively used to ensure the service continues to deliver the best care for people living with dementia.

We found that people’s general communication needs were met.

Systems were in place to capture feedback from people, staff and relatives such as annual surveys to help identify areas for improvement.

The premises and equipment were cleaned and well maintained and maintenance checks were up to date.

There were contingency plans in place to ensure people’s safety in the event of an emergency.

People told us they felt safe living at the service. Staff understood their responsibilities to raise concerns and report accidents or incidents. People received their medication safely and on time.

We saw people being treated with kindness and compassion at all times and people told us that they were happy with their care and treatment. There were individual risk assessments in place to keep people safe, including falls, moving and handling, nutrition, weight, pressure areas.

Staff received training to ensure they had the appropriate skills and knowledge to support people. We saw training records showing training was mainly up to date. Any outstanding training had been booked to take place imminently. Staff had appropriate knowledge and skills to meet people’s needs.

There were appropriate recruitment processes in place and safety checks were completed to ensure prospective staff were suitable before they were appointed.

People had enough to eat and drink. Alongside regular meals hot and cold drinks and biscuits were available between meals. People were given choice and supported to have their meals where necessary.

People had support with identifying their healthcare needs and could access healthcare professionals such as their GP.