3 May 2012
During an inspection looking at part of the service
The inspection was unannounced and took place over five hours. We spent all of our time in communal areas, apart from when people showed us their rooms and we were introduced to everybody living at the service. There were eight people living at the home at the time of the inspection and three vacancies.
We met all of the eight people living at the home, two relatives/friend spoke with the manager, a care home senior manager for Guinness, two staff on duty and observed the practice of staff members. We also looked at a variety of records, including care plans for people using the service, and we visited all areas of the home.
The majority of people living at the service were not able to comment directly ontheir care so we spent time in communal areas to help us make a judgement about people's experiences of using the service. We used a tool called SOFI 2 (Short Observational Framework for Inspection).
We saw that staff treated people with consideration and respect. Staff were able to
recognise when people wanted staff assistance, physical reassurance and when they wanted their own space. Staff were aware of how individuals communicated and this information was reflected in their personal care plans.
Staff told us about and demonstrated how they respected people's dignity.
We saw how staff were observant to people's changing moods and responded
appropriately. Throughout the inspection, we observed that staff communicated
appropriately with people, and the relationships between staff and people in the home
were good. We heard examples of how staff acted as advocates for people placing people at the heart of decision making.
Staff provided support in a caring manner making sure that people were comfortable and content, checking on people's wellbeing regularly. Each person seemed relaxed in their surroundings and recognised their own room and personal belongings.
Staff told us that people were able to make their views known about how they spent their time and we saw that this was the case. There were also meetings to try and gather the views of people living at Denis Taylor House by talking with people who were important to them and with health professionals involved in their care.
Staff were well trained and knowledgeable about people's needs and how to meet them. We saw that care records were detailed and that staff were caring for people in a person centred way.