This was an unannounced inspection carried out on the 04 September 2015.
Heath Cottage is a large detached property and provides care and accommodation for up to 28 people. There were 19 people staying at the home at the time of our visit.
At the time of our visit, the manager was in the process of registering with the Care Quality Commission as the 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 2008 and associated Regulations about how the service is run.
At our last inspection on the 09 December 2014, we found that the registered person had not protected people from the risks associated with the safe administration of medication. This was in breach of Regulation 13 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2010, which corresponds to regulation 12 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014, safe care and treatment.
As part of this inspection, we checked to see what improvements had been made. We found that medicines were not always given as prescribed by the doctor. One person was prescribed pain control that should have been administered every twelve hours to help relieve pain during the whole day. We found the time interval between each dose was only seven hours rather than twelve.
We checked the quantity levels recorded by the home for medicines belonging to three people. The quantities recorded for medicines belonging to two people were different to the stock at the home, which meant that these medicines could not be fully accounted for.
Controlled drugs, which are prescription medicines that are controlled under the Misuse of Drugs legislation, were not stored as per legislation. Other medicines were generally stored safely.
A person who was self-medicating did not have a lockable drawer or cupboard for their medicines and their room was unlocked when we visited. This was contrary to current national guidance and their current policy.
We found current fridge temperatures were recorded, but most of the results since July 2015 had been outside the recommended fridge temperatures for storage of medicines. The inside of the fridge was wet, which could increase the risk of contamination.
Medicines audits had been completed, but no action had taken place where concerns had been identified. For example, the audit had not identified the non-compliant controlled drugs cupboard and the lack of records of stock checks. Fridge temperatures had been recorded, but no action had been taken about temperatures outside the recommended range.
We found that the registered person had not protected people against the risk of associated with the safe management of medication. This was in breach of Regulation 12 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014, safe care and treatment.
You can see what action we told the provider to take at the back of the full version of the report.
People who lived at the home told us that on the whole they did feel safe living at Heath Cottage.
During the inspection we checked to see how people who lived at the home were protected against abuse. We found the home had suitable safeguarding procedures in place, which were designed to protect vulnerable people from abuse and the risk of abuse.
We looked at a sample of seven care files to understand how the service managed risk. We found the service undertook a range of risk assessments to ensure people remained safe.
On the whole during our visit, we found there were sufficient numbers of staff on duty during the day to support people who used the service. However, we saw several instances of staff members talking in group in corridors leaving people unattended in lounges. People we spoke with told us that at times they did not think that there was enough staff on duty to deal with their needs or their loved ones needs.
We found that staff received regular supervision and training to enable them to carry out their duties effectively.
We found that before any care and support was provided, the service had obtained written consent from the person or their representative, which we verified by looking at care plans. During our inspection, we observed staff seeking consent from people before undertaking any tasks. This included when supporting people eating, mobilising or when attending the toilet.
During our last inspection in December 2014, we found the environment at Heath Cottage had not been adequately adapted to meet the needs of people who were living with dementia. At that time we made a recommendation for the service to explore relevant guidance on how to make environments used by people with dementia more ‘dementia friendly’. As part of this visit, we looked to see what improvements had been made by the service. We found that the environment at Heath Cottage had largely remained unchanged since our last visit.
We have made a further a recommendation for the service to explore relevant guidance on more ‘dementia friendly’ environments.
People’s views on the quality and enjoyment of the food were mixed. We saw evidence that nutritional and hydration risk assessment had been undertaken by the service, which detailed any risks and level of support required.
People who lived at the home told us they were well cared for by the staff.
Throughout the day we observed many lost opportunities by staff to engage with people who used the service. We observed residents sitting for long periods of time without being spoken to by staff.
People we spoke with said that they were happy that staff knew what care they needed. One person told us the home had been very responsive in ensuring they had a shower each day. However, some people told us that staff did not always have time to sit and chat to them about what was important to them or how they wished to be cared for.
We looked at a sample of seven care files of people who used the service. Care plans were comprehensive, person centred and of a good standard.
During our inspection, we checked to see how people were supported with interests and social activities. We saw that people were involved in group activities like cake making and other games that took place during our visit.
Relatives we spoke with told us that they knew who the manager was and felt they could approach them with any problem they had. Staff told us the manager was approachable and supportive.
During our last inspection we identified concerns regarding the effectiveness of quality assurance auditing undertaken by the service. This was a breach of regulation 10 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2010, which corresponds to regulation 17 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014, good governance. During this inspection, we found the provider was now meeting the requirements of regulations, however some audits such as medication were not effective in addressing concerns.
We found that the service had recently implemented a comprehensive system of auditing and governance to ensure different aspects of the service were meeting the required standards. These were undertaken by both the manager and ‘head office.’