Archived: Heston House Resource Centre

People were involved in their care and asked for their views about the care and support they received. We observed positive interactions between staff and the people using the service. People told us that staff respected their privacy and treated them well. One person said, "I like it here, once you get to know the staff you can have a good laugh with them." Another person told us, "it's home from home." A relative we spoke with said, "the staff are really helpful, friendly and caring."

We saw that people's needs had been assessed prior to them being admitted to the home to ensure that staff could meet their needs effectively. We found that care plans had been developed in line with people's assessed needs and included their likes, dislikes and preferences. People had access to a range of healthcare professionals and any identified risks to people's wellbeing were managed to ensure that people were kept safe.

The home was clean, warm and maintained to an adequate standard. Health and safety and fire safety checks were taking place as required. People were able to personalise their bedrooms.

Staff received training to equip them with the skills and knowledge to meet people's needs effectively. They also received support and supervision from their line manager.

The home had effective quality monitoring systems in place.

The visit took place during the evening and we spoke with a senior member of staff. Following the inspection we also spoke with the assistant resource manager who provided further information.

We found that some of the windows on the ground floor had not been adequately maintained and could not be closed properly to ensure people's safety. Since our visit we have received information from the provider informing us that the windows have now been repaired. This will be confirmed at the next inspection of the service.

We found that staffing levels had been temporarily reduced at night as there had been a reduction in the number of people using the service and there had been some permanent staff absences. However, the provider had taken steps to ensure that there were enough staff on duty to meet people's needs.

People's needs had been assessed and care plans developed to ensure staff knew what action to take to meet them. The care plans had been updated to reflect people's changing needs. People told us that staff were respectful and one person said "staff treat me nicely". A relative spoken with also said "they treat my daughter very well"

The home provided people with a range of activities to take part in such as tea parties, performances by local theatre groups and trips out into the community. Activities that met people's cultural and religious needs were also arranged, such as an Asian women's prayer group held on a monthly basis and people also told us that they were supported to attend church services.

The home had appropriate systems in place to protect people from the risk of infection and staff adhered to these. There was an appropriate complaints system in place and an atmosphere in which people were able to raise any concerns as they felt listened to.