Archived: Meadowside

Updated 15 August 2017

We carried out this inspection under Section 60 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 as part of our regulatory functions. This inspection checked 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 took place on 18 July 2017. The inspection team consisted of three inspectors and an Expert by Experience. An Expert by Experience is a person who has personal experience of using or caring for someone who uses this type of care service.

Prior to this inspection we reviewed records held by CQC which included notifications, complaints and any safeguarding concerns. A notification is information about important events which the service is required to send us by law. This enabled us to ensure we were addressing potential areas of concern at the inspection. We received feedback from one health and social care professional prior to our inspection.

On this occasion we did not request a Provider Information Return (PIR). This is a form that asks. This was because the PIR had been submitted at our last inspection.

During the inspection we spoke with 13 people, the manager, 10 staff, two relatives and one health care professional. We observed staff carrying out their duties, such as assisting people to move around the home and helping people with food and drink.

We reviewed a variety of documents which included five people’s care plans, five staff files, training information, medicines records and some policies and procedures in relation to the running of the home.

Updated 15 August 2017

Meadowside is a care home that provides care and accommodation for up to 51 people, some who may be living with dementia. The home is divided into seven units each with their own lounge and dining area. On the day of our inspection there were 47 people living in the home.

This was an unannounced inspection that took place on 18 July 2017.

The home did not have a registered manager. 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 and associated Regulations about how the service is run. There had not been a registered manager at Meadowside for over a year. There was a new manager in post but they had not yet started their application to register as they were currently at Meadowside on a three-month secondment. Following our inspection we were told the new manager had been successful in securing the position as manager and had commenced with their application to register with CQC.

We carried out an inspection to this home in May 2016 where we identified four breaches of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014. These relates to staff acting on risks to people, failure to follow procedures in relation to the Mental Capacity Act, a lack of person centred care and a failure for the registered manager to submit statutory notifications to CQC when required. Following that inspection the registered provider sent us an action plan telling us how they planned to address our concerns. We undertook this fully comprehensive inspection to check that the registered provider had completed actions in line with what they told us. We found improvements had been made.

Care records relating to people were not always fully comprehensive. Some useful guidance for staff was missing and records relating to medicines management were not completed in full. We have made recommendations that these areas be reviewed and improved.

Staff demonstrated a kind, caring attitude towards people and people were attended to promptly by staff when they needed support. However, we did notice during the afternoon that deployment of staff could have been better organised as some areas of the home were not as well staffed as others. We have made a recommendation for this to be improved. Staff knew people well and had good relationships with people.

The provider had appropriate recruitment processes in place and staff were knowledgeable on their role in relation to helping to ensure people did not suffer from poor care or abuse. People told us they felt safe living within the home and where risks had been identified for people staff had taken appropriate action to help reduce the possibility of reoccurrence.

People received the medicines they required and we found medicines were stored appropriately. Staff working with other health professionals to help ensure people received the most appropriate care. In the event of an emergency people’s care would continue with the least disruption possible.

Staff followed the legal requirements in relation to consent to ensure people’s views had been considered and they made their own decisions where they could. The staff was very knowledgeable on people’s individual dietary requirements. People were offered a choice of meals and could always ask for an alternative.

People were cared for by staff who were supported by management. They had been given access to relevant training to allow them to carry out their roles competently and they had regular opportunities to meet with their line manager to discuss their performance.

A range of activities took place within the home and people were encouraged to participate. Where people preferred some quiet time to undertake their own interests we saw staff respected this. People were seen to be independent and enabled to move around their individual units and the home unsupported. If people were unhappy about any aspect of their care they told us they felt confident they could speak to staff. We saw a complaints policy in place and complaints received had been responded to.

The new manager had made a positive impact on the home in the time they had been there. They knew the people who lived there and they demonstrated their support of staff as we received positive feedback from staff about them. People, relatives and staff were involved in the running of the home and feedback and suggestions were listened to. Quality assurance processes were in place to monitor the quality of care provided and actions identified were acted upon. We found notifications had been submitted to CQC when required.

During our inspection we made some recommendations to the registered provider.