We carried out an inspection of Marigold Court on 6 and 8 May 2015. The first day of the inspection was unannounced. We last inspected Marigold Court on 13 September 2013 and found the service was meeting the relevant regulations in force at that time.
Marigold Court provides personal care for up to 41 people who have privately rented flats within an extra care housing facility. At the time of the inspection there were 40 people in receipt of a service.
The service 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.
People told us they felt safe and were well cared for. Staff knew about safeguarding vulnerable adults. The two alerts we received since 2014 had been dealt with appropriately, which helped to keep people safe.
We observed staff provided care safely and found staff were subject to robust recruitment checks. Arrangements for managing people’s medicines were also safe. Appropriate processes were in place for the administration of medicines. Medicines records were accurate.
Staff obtained people’s consent before providing care. Arrangements were in place to assess people’s mental capacity and to identify if decisions needed to be taken on behalf of a person in their best interests. The registered manager was aware of when people were subject to a power of attorney.
Staff had completed relevant training for their role and they were well supported by the management team. Training included care and safety related topics.
Staff were aware of people’s nutritional needs and made sure they supported people with eating and drinking where necessary. People’s health needs were identified and staff worked with other professionals to ensure these were addressed.
People had opportunities to participate in a variety of activities and we observed staff interacting positively with people. Without exception, everyone spoken with praised the kind and caring approach of staff. We saw staff were respectful and explained clearly how people’s privacy and dignity were maintained.
Staff understood the needs of people and we saw care plans were person centred. People and their relatives spoke highly about the care they or their relatives received.
People, their relatives and staff spoken with had confidence in the registered manager and felt the service had good leadership. We found there were effective systems to assess and monitor the quality of the service, which included feedback from people receiving care.