Archived: Research House

Updated 29 September 2016

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 the 22, 23 and 24 August 2016 and was announced. The provider was given 48 hours’ notice because the location provides a domiciliary care service and we needed to be sure that someone would be available.

One inspector undertook the inspection and two experts-by-experience carried out telephone interviews of people who used the service and their relatives. An expert-by-experience is a person who has personal experience of using or caring for someone who has used this type of care service. The expert-by-experience at this inspection had personal experience of caring for people who had dementia.

Before the inspection, the provider completed a Provider Information Return (PIR). This is a form that asks the provider to give some key information about the service, what the service does well and improvements they plan to make.

We also reviewed the notifications we had received from the service, records of safeguarding alerts and previous inspection reports.

During the inspection we spoke with the registered manager, a director, the operations manager and the quality assurance manager. We also spoke with five care workers. We reviewed the care records for eight people using the service, the employment folders for 11 care workers, a spread sheet containing the training and supervision records for 144 care workers and records relating to the management of the service. We also undertook phone calls with 11 people who used the service and 11 relatives.

Updated 29 September 2016

We undertook an announced inspection of Research House on 22, 23 and 24 August 2016. We told the provider two days before our visit that we would be coming because the location provides a domiciliary care service for people in their own homes and staff might be out visiting people.

MNA Home Care Services provides personal care and support to people living in their own homes. At the time of the inspection the service was providing support for 505 people across the London Boroughs of Brent, Ealing and Harrow.

We previously inspected Research House on18 February 2014 and the provider had met all the regulations that were inspected.

At the time of the inspection 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.

People told us they felt safe when they received support and the provider had policies and procedures in place to deal with any concerns that were raised about the care provided.

The provider had processes in place for the recording and investigation of incidents and accidents. A range of risk assessments were in place in the support folders in relation to the care being provided.

The provider had an effective recruitment process in place. There was a policy and procedure in place for the administration of medicines.

The provider had policies, procedures and training in relation to the Mental Capacity Act 2005 and care workers were aware of the importance of supporting people to make choices.

Care workers had received training identified by the provider as mandatory to ensure they were providing appropriate and effective care for people using the service. Also care workers had regular supervision with their manager and received an annual appraisal.

People we spoke with felt the care workers were caring and treated them with dignity and respect while providing care. Care plans identified the person’s cultural and religious needs.

Detailed assessments of the person’s needs were carried out before the person started to receive care in their own home. Each person had a care plan in place which described their support needs. Care workers completed a record of the care and support provided during each visit.

The provider had a complaints process in place and people knew what to do if they wished to raise any concerns.

The provider had systems in place to monitor the quality of the care provided and these provided appropriate information to identify issues with the quality of the service.