Archived: Marian House

Updated 21 December 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 15 and 17 November 2016 and was unannounced. The membership of the inspection team comprised of one inspector.

When planning our inspection we looked at the information we held about the service. This included notifications received from the provider about deaths, accidents/incidents and safeguarding alerts which they are required to send us by law. Before the inspection, the provider completed a Provider Information Return (PIR). This is a form that asked the provider to give some key information about the service, what the services does well and improvements they plan to make. We also contacted the National Health Service (NHS) commissioning service and referred to the Health Watch website for any relevant information to support our inspection.

We spoke with four people who used the service, three relatives, three members of staff, the registered manager, the deputy manager and the training manager. We looked at records that included three people’s care records and the recruitment and training records for three staff. This was to check staff was suitably recruited, trained and supported to deliver care to meet each person’s individual needs. We also looked at records relating to the management of the service and a selection of policies and procedures including complaints and audits carried out to monitor and improve the service provided. We also looked at records relating to the management of the service and a selection of the service’s policies and procedures to check people received a quality service.

We also carried out a Short Observational Framework for Inspection (SOFI), which is an observational tool used to help us collect evidence about the experience of people who use services, especially where people may not be able to fully describe this themselves because of cognitive or other problems.

Updated 21 December 2016

This inspection took place on 15 and 17 November 2016 and was an unannounced comprehensive rating inspection. The location was last inspected in November 2014 and was rated as ‘Good’ overall.

Marian House is a registered care home providing accommodation and personal care for up to 20 people with learning disabilities. At the time of our inspection there were 19 people living at the home.

There was a registered manager in post at the time of our inspection. 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 were kept safe. Staff had received training and understood the different types of abuse and knew what action they would take if they thought a person was at risk of harm. Staff were able to recognise the signs of abuse and raise concerns if needed. Staff were provided with sufficient guidance on how to support people’s medical care and support needs. People’s medicines were managed and administered safely and as prescribed.

People were supported by enough staff that had been safely recruited. People and relatives felt that staff demonstrated the appropriate skills and knowledge to provide good care and support. Staff were trained and supported so that they had the knowledge and skills they required to enable them to care for people in a way that met their individual needs and preferences.

People were encouraged to make choices and were involved in the care and support they received. Staff had an awareness of the Mental Capacity Act and Deprivation of Liberty Safeguarding (DoLS) and how to support people within their best interests. Staff were respectful of people’s diverse needs and the importance of promoting equality.

Staff were caring and treated people with dignity and respect. People’s independence was respected and promoted and staff responded to people’s support needs in a timely manner. People and their relatives felt they could speak with the provider about their worries or concerns and were confident that they would be listened to and have their concerns addressed.

Staff spoke positively about the provider and the supportive culture they had established at the home. The provider had quality assurance and audit systems in place to monitor the care and support people received, ensuring that the quality of service provided remained consistent and effective.