Archived: St Marys View

Updated 16 March 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 9 January 2017 and was unannounced.

The inspection was carried out by one adult social care inspector.

Before the inspection we reviewed the information we held about the home. This included the notifications we had received from the provider. Notifications are changes, events or incidents the provider is legally required to let us know about. We also contacted the local authority commissioners of the service.

The provider completed a provider information return (PIR) prior to the inspection. This 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 spoke with seven out of the eight people living at the service. One person declined to speak with us. We also spoke with the registered manager and two care workers. We looked at a range of records which included the care records for three people, medicines records for eight people and recruitment records for five care workers. We also looked at a range of other records related to the running of the service.

Updated 16 March 2017

The inspection took place on 9 January 2017 and was unannounced. We last inspected the home on 3 and 4 September 2015 and found the provider had breached the regulations relating to the safety of the premises and good governance. We found the provider had made progress since our last inspection and was now meeting the requirements of the regulations.

St Marys View provides residential care for up to 10 people with learning disabilities. At the time of our inspection there were eight people living at the service.

The home had 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 2008 and associated Regulations about how the service is run.

Action had been taken to deal with the health and safety related issues we identified during our last inspection. This included replacing the rotting fire escape and removing an unsafe shower tray. The provider’s representative was carrying out regular quality assurance visits and a record kept of their findings.

People gave us consistently positive feedback about their care. They told us they were well cared for and that care workers were kind and considerate. People also said they were supported to be independent and to make their own choices and decisions.

Where potential risks to people’s safety had been identified, a specific risk assessment was carried out to help keep them safe.

Medicine records supported the safe administration of medicines. People received their medicines from trained care workers. There was no on-going system in place to monitor the competency of care workers to administer medicines. We have made a recommendation about this. The provider kept accurate medicines records to account for the medicines people had received and to show medicines were stored appropriately.

There were sufficient care workers deployed within the home. People confirmed care workers provided timely help and support if needed. The provider completed a range of checks to help ensure new care workers were suitable to work with the people living at the home. This included disclosure and barring service (DBS) checks.

The provider carried out regular health and safety checks, such as checks of fire safety, the electrical installation, gas safety, water temperatures and portable appliance testing. Incidents and accidents were logged and fully investigated.

Care workers said received good support and had regular one to one supervision. Records confirmed care workers had completed training relevant to their role, such as moving and assisting, nutrition, first aid, fire safety, and infection control.

The provider followed the requirements of the Mental Capacity Act 2005 (MCA), including the Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS). DoLS authorisations were in place for two people using the service.

People had access to a range of health professionals, such as GPs, opticians, chiropodists, community nurses and hospital consultants.

People told us they were happy with their care but also knew how to complain if required. There had been no complaints made about the home since we last inspected.

Care records included background information about each person including details of their care preferences. People’s needs had been assessed and personalised care plans written. Care plans were evaluated monthly to keep them up to date. People had goals to work towards and progress towards achieving goals was measured periodically.

People could share their views about the service through attending a regular residents’ meeting or taking part in surveys. Residents’ meetings were well attended and were used to discuss safety and gather people’s views about the meals and activities provided in the home.

Following our last inspection the provider was carrying out regular quality assurance checks of the home and a record kept of the findings.