Abbeyfield Grove House - DCA

Abbeyfield Grove House Domiciliary Care Agency provides personal care to people living in their own apartments within the Abbeyfield Independent Living with Extra Care complex. The agency is part of an integrated care scheme providing supported living for people aged 55 and above and operates a 24-hour service. Not everyone using the agency receives regulated activity. CQC only inspects the service being received by people provided with 'personal care'; help with tasks related to personal hygiene and eating. Where they do we also take into account any wider social care provided.

On the first day of our inspection, the service was supporting 24 people to live in their own apartments within the complex although one person had moved to a residential care setting on the final day of our inspection.

There was a registered manager in post. 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.

At our last inspection in April 2017, we found shortfalls in the safe management of medicines and the service was in breach of Regulations. Following the last inspection, we asked the provider to complete an action plan to show what they would do and by when to improve the key question of ‘is the service safe?’ to at least good. At this inspection, we saw improvements had been made which meant the service was no longer in breach of Regulations.

Staff were recruited safely and there were enough staff to ensure all care visits were made, with staff staying the required length of time and completing required tasks. Staff received appropriate training and they told us the training was good and relevant to their role. Staff were supported by the registered manager and received formal supervision where they could discuss their ongoing development needs.

People who used the service and their relatives told us staff were helpful, attentive and caring. We saw people were treated with respect and compassion.

Care plans were up to date and detailed what care and support people wanted and needed at each care visit. Risk assessments were in place and showed what action had been taken to mitigate any risks which had been identified. People felt safe and appropriate referrals were made to the safeguarding team when necessary.

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

People’s healthcare needs were being met and medicines were stored and managed safely.

Staff knew about people’s dietary needs and preferences. People were encouraged to consume a healthy diet and were provided with plenty of drinks and snacks in between meals.

Activities were on offer to keep people occupied both within the community hub, shared with the provider’s adjoining residential service, and the wider community.

The complaints procedure was displayed. Records showed complaints received had been dealt with appropriately although more information was needed to evidence outcomes.

Everyone spoke highly of the registered manager and said they were approachable and supportive. The provider had effective systems in place to monitor the quality of care provided and where issues were identified they acted to make improvements.

We found all the fundamental standards were being met. Further information is in the detailed findings below.

We inspected Abbeyfield Grove House on the 13 and 19 April 2017 and the inspection was announced. This was the first inspection of the service since the provider changed to Abbeyfield The Dales Limited.

At the time of inspection there was no registered manager in post as they had left the service shortly before the inspection. However, the service had appointed a new manager who was due to take up post in the near future. 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.

We found staff received training to protect people from harm and they were knowledgeable about reporting any suspected harm. Staff told us the training provided by the organisation was good and they received the training and support required to carry out their roles effectively.

Where risks to people’s health, safety and welfare had been identified appropriate risk assessments were in place which showed what action had been taken to mitigate the risk. However, although there was a medication policy in place we found staff had not always followed correct procedures therefore we could not be confident people received their medicines as prescribed. In addition, we found that although the shortfalls in the medication system had been identified through the internal audit process no action had been taken to address the concerns raised.

The feedback we received from people who used the service about the standard of care provided was consistently good and people told us staff were reliable, kind and caring.

The support plans we looked at were generally person centred and were reviewed on a regular basis to make sure they provided accurate and up to date information. The staff we spoke with told us they used the support plans as working documents and they provided sufficient information to enable them to carry out their role effectively and in people's best interest.

If people required staff to assist or support them to prepare food and drink information was present within their support plan and staff told us they encouraged people to eat a healthy diet.

There were a sufficient number of staff employed for operational purposes and the staff recruitment process ensured only people suitable to work in the caring profession were employed.

Staff were able to describe how individual people preferred their care and support delivered and the importance of treating people and their property with respect.

Senior management demonstrated a good understanding of their responsibilities under the Mental Capacity Act 2005 (MCA) and staff demonstrated good knowledge of the people they supported and their capacity to make decisions.

There was a complaints procedure available which enabled people to raise any concerns or complaints about the care or support they received. People told us they felt able to raise any concerns with staff and felt they would be listened to and responded to effectively and in a timely manner.

There was a quality assurance monitoring system in place that was designed to continually monitor and identify shortfalls in service provision.

We found one breach of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014. You can see what action we told the provider to take at the back of the full version of this report.