Yoakley House Care Home

Updated 9 June 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 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.

This inspection took place on 1 May 2018 and was unannounced.

The inspection team consisted of two inspectors. Before the inspection we reviewed the information about the service the provider had 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 also looked at notifications received by the Care Quality Commission. A notification is information about important events, which the provider is required to tell us about by law.

Before the inspection we asked for feedback on the service from community professionals who had been involvement with the service and staff. We received information from a clinical nurse specialist for older people who has supported the registered manager and staff.

We looked at four people’s care and support records, associated risk assessments and medicine records. We looked at management records including four staff recruitment, training and support records and staff meeting minutes. We observed people spending time with staff. We spoke with the executive manager, the registered manager, the deputy manager, five staff and seven people who use the service and their relatives.

We used the Short Observational Framework for Inspection (SOFI). SOFI is a way of observing care to help us understand the experience of people who could not talk with us.

Updated 9 June 2018

Yoakley House Care Home is a residential care home. People in care homes receive accommodation and nursing or personal care as a single package under one contractual agreement. CQC regulates both the premises and the care provided, and both were looked at during this inspection. Yoakley House accommodates up to 31 older people in one adapted building. There were 30 people using the service at the time of our inspection, including four people who were receiving a short term service to support them to recover from an illness and return to their own home.

Rating at last inspection

At our last inspection we rated the service good. At this inspection we found the evidence continued to support the rating of good and there was no evidence or information from our inspection and ongoing monitoring that demonstrated serious risks or concerns. This inspection report is written in a shorter format because our overall rating of the service has not changed since our last inspection.

Rating at this inspection

At this inspection we found the service remained Good.

Why the service is rated Good

People told us that Yoakley House was their home and they felt safe living there. One person’s relative told us, “The standard of care is excellent. I can speak highly enough of it”. The provider and registered manager had oversight of the service. They checked all areas of the service regularly to make sure it met the standards they required. The registered manager worked to continually improve the care people received and had supported staff to continually develop their skills to meet people’s needs.

Staff felt supported by the registered manager and deputy manager, they were motivated and enthusiastic about their roles. A senior member of staff was always available to provide the support and guidance staff needed. Staff worked together to support people to be as independent as they wanted to be. All the staff we spoke with told us they would be happy for their relatives to live at Yoakley House. Records in respect of each person were accurate, complete and kept secure.

Staff were kind and caring and treated people with dignity and respect. They took time to get to know each person well, including people who received a short term service and provide the care each person wanted in the way they preferred. People received the care and support in the way they preferred at the end of their life.

Assessments of people’s needs and any risks had been completed and care had been planned with them, to meet their needs and preferences and keep them safe. Staff knew the signs of abuse and were confident to raise any concerns they had with the registered manager or provider. People were not discriminated against and received care tailored to them. A process was in place to investigated and responded to complaints and small day to day issues had been resolved immediately to people’s satisfaction. People had enough to do during the day, including activities to keep them physically and mentally active.

Changes in people’s health were identified quickly and staff contacted their health care professionals for support. People’s medicines were managed safely and people were supported to continue to manage their own medicines where they chose to. People were offered a balanced diet of food they liked and that met their cultural needs and preferences.

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 support this practice. The registered manager knew when assessments of people’s capacity to make decisions were needed. Information was available to people in a way their understood to help them make decisions and choices. Staff treated people with dignity and gave them privacy.

There were enough staff to provide the care and support people needed when they wanted it. People were involved in recruiting new staffed safely. Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) criminal records checks had been completed to make sure staff were suitable for their role. Staff were clear about their roles and responsibilities and worked as a team to meet people’s needs.

The service and equipment were clean and well maintained. The building had been adapted to meet people’s needs and make them feel comfortable and at home. People were able to use all areas of the building and grounds and were encouraged to make their bedroom feel homely.

The registered manager had informed CQC of significant events at that had happened at the service, so we could check that appropriate action had been taken.

Services are required to prominently display their CQC performance rating. The provider had displayed the rating in the entrance hall.

Further information is in the detailed findings below.