Meridan House

Updated 28 January 2022

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.

As part of CQC’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic we are looking at how services manage infection control and visiting arrangements. This was a targeted inspection looking at the infection prevention and control measures the provider had in place. We also asked the provider about any staffing pressures the service was experiencing and whether this was having an impact on the service.

This inspection took place on 13 January 2022. We gave the service approximately 24 hours’ notice of the inspection.

Updated 28 January 2022

About the service

Meridan House is a purpose built care home in a complex of supported housing services for people with mental health needs. Meridan House is registered to accommodate a maximum of 12 people. On the day of this inspection there were six people using the service.

People’s experience of using this service and what we found

At this inspection we found that the service was outstanding in empowering people to have as much control over their lives as possible and to achieve their maximum potential.

People’s care was highly personalised, and staff had excellent understanding of people’s needs and interests to deliver an excellent level of care. We found multiple examples to demonstrate the staff and management team went above and beyond and were passionate about providing an innovative, responsive and excellent service to people.

People told us they felt safe using the service. Medicines were managed safely. Appropriate numbers of suitably skilled staff were deployed to meet people's needs in a timely manner. Staff followed appropriate infection control practices. Accident and incidents were recorded and acted upon. Any lessons learnt were used as opportunities to improve the quality of service.

Assessments were carried out prior to people joining the service to ensure their needs could be met. Where risks were identified, management plans were in place to manage these safely. Staff had the training, knowledge and experience to support people's needs. People were supported to maintain good health and had access to a range of healthcare services when needed. People were encouraged to eat a healthy well balanced diet for their wellbeing.

People were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff supported them in the least restrictive way possible; the policies and systems in the service supported this practice.

People's privacy, dignity and independence was promoted. People told us staff were kind and caring.

There were procedures in place to respond to complaints. The provider had investigated and responded promptly to any concerns received.

There were effective systems in place to assess and monitor the quality of the service provided.

The provider worked in partnership with healthcare services and professionals to plan and deliver an effective service.

Rating at the last inspection:

The last rating for this service was requires improvement (published 13 September 2018). The provider completed an action plan after the last inspection to show what they would do and by when to improve. At this inspection we found improvements had been made and the provider was no longer in breach of regulations.

Why we inspected:

This was a planned inspection based on the previous rating.

Follow up:

We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service until we return to visit as per our re-inspection programme. If any concerning information is received we may inspect sooner.

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