Archived: Poppies

Poppies is a residential care home that provides accommodation and support for up to six people with learning disabilities and/or those who are in the autistic spectrum. At the time of our inspection there were six people living at the home.

The home 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. The registered manager was approachable and supportive of people who lived at the home and of the staff team.

The provider had effective systems to safeguard people from avoidable harm. There were personalised and environmental risk assessments in place to reduce or manage risks posed to people, staff and visitors to the home. There was a sufficient number of staff who were trained and knew how to meet people’s care needs. People’s medicines were administered safely and they were supported to access healthcare services to maintain their health and well-being.

Staff understood the requirements of the Mental Capacity Act 2005 and sought people’s consent before providing care and support. They were trained in areas that were relevant to the needs of the people who lived at the home. They were knowledgeable about people’s care needs and they provided appropriate support to people. People had enough to eat and drink and they were provided with a choice of food, snacks and drinks as appropriate.

People were supported to express their views and be actively involved in making decisions about their care. Staff treated them with dignity and respect and encouraged them to maintain their independence, interests and hobbies. Staff were also respectful and friendly in their interactions with people.

People’s needs had been identified before they moved to the home, and changes to people’s needs were managed appropriately. People had personalised care plans that gave guidance to staff on meeting people’s needs. They were supported by the staff team to take part in activities that were of interest to them.

The provider had an effective system in place for handling complaints. They encouraged feedback from people and acted on this to improve the quality of the service. They also had an effective quality monitoring process in place to ensure continual improvement of the service.

We saw that people were offered choices about their lives and about how the home was run. One person agreed non verbally to show us their bedroom and led the way to it. We saw that it was arranged in the way that the person preferred and that they had chosen the items they wanted in it. People helped to choose what meals to have each week and what to do during the day.

People's needs were set out in their care records which were up to date and detailed. The information in them provided staff with guidance about how to meet people's needs in the ways they preferred and how to promote their health and welfare.

There were robust safeguarding vulnerable adults procedures in place. Staff demonstrated that they knew what to do if they suspected abuse.

The home had sufficient staff to meet people's needs and people were comfortable with staff. Staff were patient and respectful towards people.

The provider had systems in place to check that the home was well run and safe and to consult people about their views.

The service was full at the time of our inspection. We spoke individually with one person. They said they liked living at Poppies, liked their room and had chosen the colour scheme for it. They said they went to day activities that involved looking after animals which they enjoyed and they had enjoyed their recent birthday party.

We spoke with two people's relatives who said they were very happy with the service. They said staff understood people's needs well, care and support was given safely and staff were kind and caring. They felt the environment was suitable for people's needs and that people had enough to do.

Comments from relatives included 'I think we hit the jackpot when he came to live here ','Everything they do is risk assessed ','I think the care is pretty good, (family member) seems to be happy there 'and 'Staff are helpful and communicate well'.

We found that there were enough staff to meet people's needs and that staff received the training they needed for their roles.

There were systems in place to monitor the quality of the service. These included systems to ask people and their representatives for their views about it.