Archived: The Mariners

Updated 31 May 2019

The inspection:

We carried out this inspection under Section 60 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (the Act) as part of our regulatory functions. This inspection was planned to check whether the provider was meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Act, to look at the overall quality of the service, and to provide a rating for the service under the Care Act 2014.

Inspection team:

The inspection was conducted by one inspector.

Service and service type:

The Mariners is a care home. People in care homes receive accommodation and nursing or personal care. The Care Quality Commission (CQC) regulates both the premises and the care provided, and both were looked at during this inspection. The service had a manager registered with the Care Quality Commission. This means that they and the provider are legally responsible for how the service is run and for the quality and safety of the care provided.

Notice of inspection:

The inspection was unannounced.

What we did:

We reviewed information we had received about the service since the last inspection. This included details about incidents the provider must notify us about, such as abuse. We assessed the information in the provider information return. This is key information providers are required to send us about their service, what they do well, and improvements they plan to make. This information helps support our inspections.

During the inspection, we spoke with four people who used the service, to ask about their experience of the care provided and one visiting family member. We observed staff providing support to people in the communal areas of the service. This was so we could understand people's experiences. By observing the care received, we could determine if they were comfortable with the support they were provided with.

We spoke with two members of staff including the deputy manager. We also spoke with the registered manager.

We reviewed a range of records about people's care and how the service was managed. This included looking at two people's care records and a sample of people's medicines administration records. We reviewed records of meetings, staff rotas and staff training records. We also reviewed the records of accidents, incidents, complaints and quality assurance audits the management team had completed.

Updated 31 May 2019

About the service: The Mariners is a residential care home providing personal care and accommodation for 10 people aged 18-65 with learning disabilities/and or autism. The service was full at the time of inspection. Accommodation is provided over several floors in a period property on the main high street.

For more details, please see the full report which is on the CQC website at www.cqc.org.uk

People’s experience of using this service:

Peoples experience of using the service remained good. People spoke positively about the opportunities they had to do things for themselves, try out new things and the support they receive from staff to enable them to take more control of their lives. A relative told us that they were very happy with the way their relative, who usually took time to adapt to change, had in fact settled quickly and was “really happy”, they found staff very supportive and they and other relatives said they were kept informed and involved. A visiting care manager undertaking a review of the care of someone at the service told us that they were very satisfied with the support the person was receiving and had no concerns at all.

The premises is a period building and as such there are limitations and restrictions on what can be done to modernise it. This aside, décor in communal areas is very tired and carpeting in communal areas needs updating. Peoples bedrooms however are personalised and decorated to their own specific preferences.

The service has been developed and designed in line with the values that underpin the Registering the Right Support and other best practice guidance. This ensured that people could live as full a life as possible and achieve the best possible outcomes. The principles reflect the need for people with learning disabilities and/or autism to live meaningful lives that include control, choice, and independence.

The registered manager provides continuity and consistency of leadership in the way the service is managed and developed, this had enabled trusted relationships to build between people and the registered manager. Staff felt well supported and received regular supervision and appraisal from their line manager. A trustee visit happens annually and a report of this was available to view. There is however, a lack of evidence of regular formal quality assurance oversight from the provider representative and how they could evidence their assurance that people received a safe and appropriate service for their needs. This is an area for improvement.

Staff encouraged positive risk taking for people to enable them to live as ordinary a life as possible. People were independent in most areas of their daily support and staffing levels reflected this, there were enough staff to meet people’s day to day needs. Medicines were managed safely and five people were empowered and enabled to take over the administration of their own medicines.

. People's needs were routinely reviewed and reassessed to ensure they had the right support and care was planned and delivered to meet their specific needs and preferences. Staff were well trained; staff retention was good and staff demonstrated excellent knowledge and understanding of people’s individual needs. People ate well, were encouraged to eat healthily and were supported to cook for themselves on some days.

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. When people were unable to make decisions about their care and support, the principles of the Mental Capacity Act (2005) were followed.

Staff showed themselves to be kind and caring in their interactions with people and fostered a warm and considerate attitude between people in the service. The atmosphere in the service was welcoming and staff and people were friendly to visitors. People and their relatives were informed and involved in decisions that affected peoples support. People had their own keys to their rooms and their privacy and dignity was respected by each other and staff. People were supported and enabled to form meaningful relationships with others.

People were supported and given choices to do things that interested them, they had access to a wide range of activities and entertainments and participated in voluntary work placements in a local café.

People were supported to remain well and were supported with routine and specialist health checks and appointments with health professionals. Staff were trained to support people with healthcare conditions such as Diabetes and epilepsy. People and relative’s concerns were listened to and acted upon to help improve people’s experience of care and support offered.

Rating at last inspection: Good (report published in October 2016)

Why we inspected: This was a scheduled inspection based on the previous rating. We found the evidence continued to support a Good rating overall.

Follow up: We will continue to monitor the service through the information we receive.