The inspection took place on the 29 September 2015. It was unannounced. During our last inspection of the service in August 2013, the provider was compliant with all of the regulations.
The Gravers Care Home Limited provides care and support for up to 21 people with mental health issues and / or learning disabilities. The service is situated close to York hospital and York city centre. There were 20 people accommodated on the day of our visit.
The service has two registered managers. 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.
People told us they felt safe living at the Gravers. Staff received training in safeguarding vulnerable adults and the service had policies and procedures in place to support staff should an allegation be made.
People were protected from discrimination. Staff received training in equality and diversity and there were appropriate policies available.
Risks were identified and recorded in people’s individual care plans and people were supported to take responsible risks.
There were sufficient numbers of staff on duty who went through a thorough recruitment regime before employment commenced. People spoke highly of the staff employed.
People received their medication safely. They were supported to manage their own medicines where possible.
The service had policies and procedures to support staff in maintaining good standards of infection control. People were supported to keep their rooms clean and domestic staff were employed to clean the rest of the home.
Staff received appropriate induction, training and support to help them in their roles. We were told that staff were skilled in caring for people.
People were supported to make their own decisions and where they were not able to do so, meetings were held to ensure that decisions were made in the person’s best interests. If it was considered that people were being deprived of their liberty, the correct authorisations had been applied for.
People received a varied choice of meals and were supported to make their own meals where possible. Specialist diets were catered for and access to dieticians was sought where needed.
People told us they could access a range of health care services. There were a range of health professionals involved in monitoring and reviewing people’s care. Other health professionals spoke highly of the management and staff.
The home was nicely furnished and decorated throughout. We saw that regular maintenance including redecoration and refurbishment was carried out.
People were well cared for and happy living at the Gravers. People spoke highly of the care provided by staff. People told us they were treated with dignity and respect.
People told us they were involved in discussions about their care. People had detailed care records in place which recorded how they should be cared for and the support they may require. These records would benefit from review and update in some areas.
People could access a range of educational, occupational and social activities of their choice. They were encouraged and supported to do so.
The service had a complaints procedure and people told us they could talk to the staff if they had any concerns. The complaints policy needed to be updated which the registered manager agreed to do.
The service had a range of management systems in place to support people. People’s views were sought and there was some evidence of quality monitoring systems to review the service. These would benefit from review so that all aspects of service quality can be reviewed.