Archived: Gilbert Scott Care Home

Updated 2 February 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 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 7 January 2017 and was announced. We announced the inspection because we wanted to make sure there would be staff available at Gilbert Scott Care Home as we visited at the weekend and people may have been out. The inspection was carried out by one inspector.

Before the inspection we reviewed information that we held about the service. Providers are required to notify the Care Quality Commission about events and incidents that occur including injuries to people receiving care and safeguarding concerns. The provider had completed a Provider Information Return (PIR). A PIR is a form that asks the provider to give some key information about the service, what the provider does well and what improvements they plan to make. We also spoke with three social care professionals who had visited or worked in partnership with the people and staff in the home.

We spoke, and spent time with, the four people who lived in the home and observed the support they received from staff. The people living in the home did not always use words as their main communication method. They used signs, words and gestures throughout the day to indicate their needs and contentment with staff and the inspector. During the day we also spoke with six members of staff, the registered manager, a visiting relative and health care professional. We looked at a range of records during the inspection. These included records related to the four people’s care and two staff files. We also looked at information relating to the management of the service including quality assurance audits, staff information, meeting minutes and staff training.

Updated 2 February 2017

Gilbert Scott Care Home provides accommodation and personal care for up to 5 people with learning disabilities. At the time of our inspection there were four people with diverse and complex support needs living in the home.

The service had a registered manager at the time of 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.

We inspected the home in July 2015 and identified concerns related to the implementation of the Mental Capacity Act 2005 (MCA) and Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS), the environment people lived in, the governance of the service and how people were treated with respect. We took enforcement action and told the provider to make improvements in how people were treated with respect and the implementation of the MCA and DoLS and during an inspection on December 2015 we found these improvements had been made.

At this inspection we found that improvements had also been made regarding the environment and governance of the service.

People felt safe and well cared for, they were relaxed in staff company and sought out staff when they needed assistance. They were protected from harm because staff understood how to reduce the risks they faced. They also knew how to identify and respond to abuse and told us they would be confident to do so.

People had support and care when they needed it from staff who had been safely recruited and understood their needs. Staff were consistent in their knowledge of people’s care needs and spoke confidently about the support people needed to meet these needs. They told us they felt supported in their roles and had taken training that provided them with the necessary knowledge and skills to support the individuals living in the home. Staff were cheerful and treated people and visitors with respect and kindness throughout our inspection.

People saw health care professionals when necessary. Records reflected that staff responded appropriately to emerging, ongoing and emergency healthcare needs. People received their medicines as they were prescribed.

Staff understood how people consented to the care they provided and encouraged people to make decisions about their lives. Care plans and practice reflected the framework of the Mental Capacity Act 2005. Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards had been applied for when people needed to live in the home to be cared for safely but did not have the mental capacity to consent to this.

The home was clean throughout and how there was on going work related to how people could make the most of the space available for leisure, relaxation and daily living.

People were engaged with individual activities that reflected their preferences both within their home and the local area.

People had food and drinks that reflected their preferences and there were systems in place to ensure people had enough to eat and drink. When people needed particular diets or support to eat and drink safely this was in place.

Quality assurance had led to improvements being made and staff were actively encouraged to contribute their views to this process. People could not contribute verbally to improvement plans but their wishes, needs and reactions to changes were reflected in all improvement planning and review undertaken. Staff and professionals spoke positively about the management and staff team as a whole.