Moorleigh Residential Care Home provides accommodation for up to twenty adults with mental health needs. At the time of the inspection there were 20 people living in the service, two rooms are double and people had agreed to share.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.
At the last inspection, the service was rated Good overall. At this inspection we found the service remained Good in all areas.
Why the service is rated good.
People told us, “They [the staff] are very nice people”, “Everything is hunky-dory, they help me shop and it’s just like a home really”, “It’s very good at Moorleigh” and “[The registered manager] is a superwoman. It’s family owned and everybody knows everybody, lovely. You can live your life here and I like going out with people.” The registered manager said, “We form close bonds with people, we care about them. Even when one person moved on we made sure we visited with their old friends. Staff are very important too, we all talk all the time.” Staff knew people well and told us, “It’s a close, small home. We know people’s families and they know ours. We know when people are not feeling sociable or how to encourage appropriate dress for example to maintain dignity.” Two staff commented, “We love it here, we’ve been here so long it’s like we’ve moved in. It’s a family thing.”
People remained safe at the service because they received their medicines safely. People and staff told us there were sufficient staff to meet people’s needs. Risk assessments were completed to enable people to retain their independence and receive care with minimum risk to themselves or others. For example, most people were able to go out into the community without support. They had been involved in identifying possible risks and how to manage them independently or with support when they asked. The majority of people enjoyed smoking and this had been managed well.
People continued to receive care from staff who had the skills and knowledge required to effectively support them. Staff were well trained and competent. 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 supported this practice. People's healthcare needs were monitored by the staff and people had access to healthcare professionals according to their individual needs. For example, close liason with community mental health services.
People said the staff were kind and very caring. One person said, “It’s nice here. You can do as you like, come and go when you want. I can’t fault it here. The staff help me visit friends and make sure I’m ok. I can go out on my own on the bus.” There was a calm atmosphere in the service, with people relaxing, going out or enjoying a lie in. People's privacy was respected. People where possible, or their representatives, were involved in decisions about the care and support people received. The registered manager and provider sought people's views to make sure people were at the heart of any changes within the home. One person told us they went to the resident’s meetings held regularly in the home; the registered manager said the service had worked hard to encourage people to participate and share their views.
The service remained responsive to people's individual needs. Care and support was personalised to each person which ensured they were able to make choices about their day to day lives. People were assisted to take part in a wide range of activities according to their individual interests. This also included enabling people to access activities they liked to do in the community and giving opportunities for new experiences or one to one time with staff. Complaints were fully investigated and responded to. There had been no formal complaints since the last inspection and people told us they had no concerns but would speak to the registered manager or staff if they did.
The service continued to be well led. People and staff told us the registered manager, provider and staff team were very approachable. The registered manager and provider had robust quality assurance monitoring systems which enabled them to identify good practices and areas of improvement.
Further information is in the detailed findings below.