Background to this inspection
Updated
10 December 2015
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 visit took place on 05 November 2015 and was announced.
The inspection was undertaken by an adult social care inspector.
Before our inspection on 05 November 2015 we reviewed the information we held on the service. This included notifications we had received from the provider, about incidents that affect the health, safety and welfare of people who lived at the home and previous inspection reports. We also checked to see if any information concerning the care and welfare of people who lived at the home had been received.
We spoke with a range of people about the service. They included the registered manager, two staff members and five people who lived at the home. We also spoke to the commissioning department at the local authority. This helped us to gain a balanced overview of what people experienced accessing the service.
We looked at the care records of three people, the duty rota, training matrix, records relating to the management of the home and the medication records of two people. The service had not recruited any new staff members in the last twelve months.
Updated
10 December 2015
This inspection visit took place on 05 November 2015 and was announced. The registered manager was given 24 hours’ notice because the location was a small care home for younger adults who are often out during the day, we needed to be sure someone would be in.
At the last inspection on 28 April 2014 the service was meeting the requirements of the regulations that were inspected at that time.
45 Watson Road is a small home supporting six people with a learning disability. The home is situated in the South Shore area of Blackpool, not far from the Pleasure Beach. All of the bedrooms are large with good views. There are garden areas to the front side and rear of the house where people can sit out in good weather.
There was a registered manager in place. 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.
Suitable arrangements were in place to protect people from abuse and unsafe care. Staff had received safeguarding training and understood their responsibilities to report any unsafe care or abusive practices. People we spoke with told us they felt safe and their rights and dignity were respected. One person we spoke with said, “I love it here and feel safe. The staff are very kind.”
The registered manager had systems in place to record safeguarding concerns, accidents and incidents and take necessary action as required.
The registered manager understood the requirements of the Mental Capacity Act (2005) (MCA and the Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS). This meant they were working within the law to support people who may lack capacity to make their own decisions.
We found sufficient staffing levels were in place to provide the support people required. We saw the registered manager and staff members on duty could undertake tasks supporting people without feeling rushed.
We found medication procedures in place at the home were safe. Staff responsible for the administration of medicines had received training to ensure they had the competency and skills required. Medicines were safely kept and appropriate arrangements for storing were in place.
The home was well maintained, clean and hygienic when we visited. No offensive odours were observed by the Inspector. The people we spoke with said they were happy with the standard of accommodation provided.
The staff members spoken with were positive about working for the registered manager and felt well supported. They said they received regular training to make sure they had the skills and knowledge to meet people’s needs.
People were happy with the variety and choice of meals available to them. Regular snacks and drinks were available to them between meals to ensure they received adequate nutrition and hydration.
People who lived at the home had freedom of movement around the home. They were involved in decision making about their personal care needs and the running of the home. We saw no restrictions on people’s liberty during our visit.
The registered manager used a variety of methods to assess and monitor the quality of the service. These included annual satisfaction surveys, staff and resident’s meetings’ and care reviews. We found people were satisfied with the service they were receiving.