Background to this inspection
Updated
6 April 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. This inspection was planned to check whether the provider was meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Act, to look at the overall quality of the service, and to provide a rating for the service under the Care Act 2014.
Inspection team:
The inspection was carried out by one inspector.
Service and service type:
Merrimore House is a care home. People in care homes receive accommodation and nursing or personal care. CQC regulates both the premises and the care provided, and both were looked at during this inspection.
The service had a manager registered 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 was an announced inspection which took place on 6 March 2019. As this is a small service, we telephoned the provider the day before the inspection to check that people would be at home when we visited.
What we did:
Before the inspection, we reviewed information we had received about the service since the last inspection. This included details about important events the provider must notify us about by law. We assessed the information we require providers to send us at least once annually, to give some key information about the service, what the service does well and improvements they plan to make. We used all this information to plan our inspection.
During the inspection, we spoke with four people using the service, one member of care staff and the registered manager. We reviewed a range of records about people's care and how the service was managed. This included two people's care records and a sample of medicines administration records. We reviewed records of meetings, accidents, incidents and quality assurance audits the registered manager had completed.
Updated
6 April 2019
About the service: Merrimore House provides accommodation, care and support for up to six people with a learning disability. It is a three-storey house in Hunstanton. There were four people living at the service on the day of inspection.
The service had been developed and designed in line with the values that underpin the Registering the Right Support and other best practice guidance. These values include choice, promotion of independence and inclusion.
People’s experience of using this service:
¿ People were very positive about Merrimore House and liked living there. Comments included, “I definitely like living here,” and, “I’m really happy living here.”
¿ People were protected from avoidable harm and abuse. Action was taken to reduce the risks to people.
¿ The environment was monitored and was safe for people to live in.
¿ People received their medicines when they needed them.
¿ Staff were recruited safely and staffing levels were sufficient to meet people’s needs.
¿ Staff were knowledgeable and were kind, caring and patient.
¿ People were treated with dignity and respect.
¿ Staff knew people well and had developed meaningful relationships with them. Support was provided in a person-centred way based on people’s preferences.
¿ People were supported to manage their health and there were links with other services to ensure that individual health needs were met.
¿ The outcomes for people using the service reflected the principles and values of ‘Registering the Right Support’. People were supported to be as independent as possible and participated actively within their local community.
¿ People were supported to have maximum choice and control in their lives and staff supported them in the least restrictive way.
¿ People could take part in a range of activities, work and educational opportunities which promoted their wellbeing.
¿ Quality assurance processes were in place and actions were taken to address any issues identified.
¿ The service continued to be well managed and staff felt supported.
Rating at last inspection: Good ( report published 8 July 2016)
Why we inspected: This was a planned inspection based on the previous rating.
Follow up: We will continue to monitor all intelligence received about the service to ensure the next planned inspection is scheduled accordingly.
For more details, please see the full report which is on the CQC website at www.cqc.org.uk