Archived: Alexandra House Care Centre - Southport

Updated 15 January 2015

This was an unannounced inspection. We visited the Alexandra House Care Centre on 8 July 2014 and spent time with six people and invited them to share with us their views and experience of living at the home. We spoke with five family members who were visiting their relatives at the time of the inspection. We also spoke with a registered nurse, a member of the care staff team, a member of the catering team, a member of the housekeeping team and the registered manager.

We observed care and support being delivered in communal areas. We had a look around the building, including a visit to the kitchen and we looked at some of the bedrooms. In addition, the inspection involved looking at a wide range of records, including four people’s care records, three staff recruitment files and records to support how the home was managed.

The inspection team comprised an Expert by Experience and a CQC inspector. An Expert by Experience is a person who has personal experience of using or caring for someone who uses this type of service.

Before our inspection we reviewed the information we held about the home including the Provider Information Return (PIR). The PIR is a form that asks the provider to give some key information about the service, what the service does well and improvements they plan to make. We contacted the commissioners of the service and Healthwatch to obtain their views of the service. We spoke with two healthcare professionals who visited the home on a regular basis.

Updated 15 January 2015

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, and to pilot a new inspection process being introduced by CQC that looks at the overall quality of the service.

This was an unannounced inspection. Alexandra House Care Centre is a large care home that provides residential and nursing care for up to 56 people. The home is situated within walking distance of Southport town centre. Accommodation is provided over four floors, with the dining room, lounges and some bedrooms on the ground floor. It has a passenger lift and a garden to the side of the building.

A registered manager was in place at the time of the inspection. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission to manage the service and has the legal responsibility for meeting the requirements of the law; as does the provider.

People living at Alexandra House Care Centre were kept safe because they received good care and support that was tailored to meet their individual needs. Staff ensured they were kept safe from abuse and avoidable harm. Regularly reviewed risk assessments and care plans were in place for people with risks associated with their health and welfare needs. Staffing levels were sufficient to meet the needs of people living at the home.

Nobody living at the home was subject to a Deprivation of Liberty Safeguarding (DoLS) order. The registered manager and staff had a good understanding of DoLS and gave relevant examples of situations where people could be deprived of their liberty.

New staff underwent robust recruitment checks to ensure they were suitable to work with vulnerable adults. Staff were well supported through induction process and on-going training programme. Staff appraisals and supervision were behind schedule but this had been recognised by the registered manager and a system had been developed to address the matter.

We found staff were caring and treated people with dignity and kindness. People’s individual needs and preferences were respected by staff. People were supported to maintain optimum health and could access a range of external health care professionals when they needed to. People received adequate to eat and drink and were encouraged to maintain a healthy balanced diet.

The culture within the service was person-centred and open. People and families were involved in planning and reviewing care. From listening to people’s views and discussions with staff, we established that the leadership within the home was strong and effective. A process was established for managing complaints. The registered manager advised us that no formal complaints had been received within the last 12 months.