Archived: Abacus House Residential Care

Updated 11 September 2019

The inspection

We carried out this inspection under Section 60 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (the Act) as part of our regulatory functions. We checked whether the provider was meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Act. We looked at the overall quality of the service and provided a rating for the service under the Care Act 2014.

Inspection team

The inspection team consisted of one inspector.

Service and service type

Abacus House is registered to provide accommodation and personal care for up to seven people with learning disabilities. People in care homes receive accommodation and nursing or personal care as single package under one contractual agreement. CQC regulates both the premises and the care provided, and both were looked at during this inspection. The service had a manager who was registering with the Care Quality Commission. This means that they and the provider are legally responsible for how the service is run and for the quality and safety of the care provided.

Notice of inspection

This inspection was unannounced.

What we did before the inspection

We used the information the provider sent us in the provider information return. This is information providers are required to send us with key information about their service, what they do well, and improvements they plan to make. This information helps support our inspections. We looked at notifications received from the provider. A notification is information about important events which the provider is required to tell us about by law. This ensured we were addressing any areas of concern. We also reviewed the provider’s previous inspection reports. In addition, we contacted the local authority commissioner of services to obtain their views. We used all of this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection

Although some people had communication needs, we were able to speak with three people and one relative. We looked at three people’s care and medicine administration records (MAR). We spoke with two care staff, the deputy manager and manager. We reviewed a range of records relating to the management of the home. These included staff files, quality assurance audits, incident reports, complaints and compliments. We used the Short Observational Framework for Inspection (SOFI). SOFI is a way of observing care to help us understand the experience of people who could not talk with us.

Updated 11 September 2019

About the service:

Abacus House is a care home that was providing personal care to seven people with learning disabilities at the time of the inspection. The accommodation is spread over three floors in one adapted building.

People’s experience of using this service:

People living at Abacus House received safe care from skilled and knowledgeable staff. People told us they felt safe receiving care from the service. Staff fully understood their responsibilities to identify and report any concerns. The provider had safe recruitment and selection processes in place.

Risks to people's safety and well-being were managed through a risk management process. There were sufficient staff deployed to meet people's needs. Medicines were managed safely, and people received their medicines as prescribed.

The manager, deputy manager and staff worked hard to meet people’s support needs and provide safe care and support. The manager worked closely with GPs, healthcare professionals and the local authority to ensure the service responded to people’s changing needs safely and effectively. People’s care was personalised and matched their needs, which promoted their wellbeing and improved their quality of life.

People were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff supported them in the least restrictive way possible; the procedures in the service supported this practice. People were supported to maintain good health and to meet their nutritional needs.

We observed staff were very caring. People consistently received good care from staff who knew them well. People had access to a variety of personalised activities to prevent social isolation and promote their wellbeing. Events were provided that matched people’s interests and abilities.

Abacus House was well-led by a manager who was registering with the Care Quality Commission and who continually looked for ways to improve people’s lives. Staff culture was compassionate and caring and this had resulted in the provision of personalised and individualised care. The service had a clear management and staffing structure in place. Staff worked well as a team and had a sense of pride working at the service. The provider had quality assurance systems in place to monitor the quality and safety of the service.

Rating at last inspection:

At our last inspection we rated the service Good. Our last report was published in March 2017.

Why we inspected:

This inspection was part of our scheduled plan of visiting services to check the safety and quality of care people received.

Follow up:

We will continue to monitor the service to ensure that people receive safe, compassionate, high quality care. Further inspections will be planned for future dates.

For more details, please see the full report which is on the CQC website at www.cqc.org.uk