Alfred House Residential Care Home

Updated 10 November 2018

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 unannounced inspection was conducted by one adult social care inspector on the 15 October 2018.

Before this inspection, we reviewed notifications that we had received from and about the service. A notification is information about important events which the provider is required to tell us about by law. We reviewed the Provider Information Record (PIR) before the inspection. This is a form that asks the provider to give some key information about the service, and tells us what the service does well and the improvements they plan to make. We used this information to help plan the inspection. We also checked with the local authority commissioning and safeguarding teams. They informed us that they did not have any concerns about Alfred House and were satisfied with the level of care provided.

We spoke with six people who used the service, the provider/registered manager, the deputy manager, one care staff member and three health and social care professionals that had involvement with the service.

We observed interactions between staff and the people living at the service. We reviewed care records and risk management plans for four people who lived at the service, and checked other records relating to people's support plans which included medicines administration records to ensure these were accurate and completed correctly. We looked at a range of staff files and the training records for all the staff employed at the service to ensure that staff training was up to date. We also reviewed additional information on how the quality of the service was monitored and managed.

Updated 10 November 2018

This unannounced inspection took place on 15 October 2018. We had previously carried out an inspection on 18 and 22 February 2016 when we found the service had complied with all the regulations we reviewed.

Alfred House is a 'care home'. People in care homes receive accommodation and nursing or personal care as a single package under one contractual agreement. We regulate both the premises and the care provided, and both were looked at during this inspection.

Alfred House is located in Bury. Alfred House consists of two large adjoining terraced properties made into one. The property is close to Bury town centre. The home has good transport links into Bury and Manchester and there is a park, shops and other amenities close by.

Alfred House provides accommodation for up to ten people with mental health needs who require support with personal care. Ten people were living at Alfred House at the time of our inspection.

At our last inspection in February 2016 we rated the service good. At this inspection we found the evidence continued to support the rating of good and there was no evidence or information from our inspection and ongoing monitoring that demonstrated serious risks or concerns. This inspection report is written in a shorter format because our overall rating of the service has not changed since our last inspection.

The service had a manager who was registered with us. 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 the legal responsibility for meeting the requirements in the Health and Social Care Act and associated Regulations about how the service is run. The registered manager of Alfred House was also the registered provider for the service.

People said staff treated them with kindness and compassion. Comments included, "The staff here are good to me, very supportive, and “I can rely on the staff to help me with everything that I need.”

Staff knew people's care needs, preferences, personal histories and backgrounds. People said staff protected their privacy and their dignity was respected. People were supported to be independent.

People received care from staff who were appropriately trained to effectively carry out their job roles. People were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives. The service acted in accordance with the Mental Capacity Act (2005). People's nutritional needs were met and they were supported to maintain good health and receive ongoing healthcare support.

Staff were aware of their responsibilities to safeguard people from abuse. Safe recruitment practices were in place and the service followed national and local safeguarding guidance. There were sufficient staff to care for people. Risks to people's safety were assessed and medicines were administered safely.

People received personalised care that met their individual needs. People were given appropriate support and encouragement to access meaningful activities and follow their individual interests.

We found that records were written in a positive and respectful way and provided guidance on how to support people.

Alfred House had arrangements in place to receive feedback from people that used the service, their relatives, external stakeholders and staff members about the services provided.

We found that records were sufficiently maintained and effective systems were in place to monitor the quality of the service.