Archived: Rowan Garth Care Home

Updated 25 August 2018

We carried out this inspection under Section 60 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 as part of our regulatory functions. This inspection checked whether the provider is meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Health and Social Care Act 2008, to look at the overall quality of the service, and to provide a rating for the service under the Care Act 2014.

This inspection took place on 30 July and 2 August 2018 and was unannounced on the first day. The inspection was conducted by two adult social care inspectors, a specialist advisor who was a registered nurse by background and two experts by experience. An expert by experience is a person who has personal experience of using or caring for someone who uses this type of care service.

Before the inspection we checked the information we held about both the service and the service provider. This included a provider information return [PIR]. This is a form that asks the provider to give some key information about the service, what the service does well and any improvements they plan to make. We also looked at any statutory notifications received and reviewed any other information we held prior to visiting. A statutory notification is information about significant events which the service is required to send us by law. We also invited the local authority commissioners to provide us with any information they held about the service. We used all of this information to plan how the inspection should be conducted.

During the inspection we spoke with the current manager, the training manager, the activities co-ordinators and 14 members of care staff. We also spoke with 12 people who lived at the service and 10 relatives.

We looked at 13 care records, 13 staff recruitment files, a sample of medication administration records, policies and procedures and other documents relevant to the management of the service.

We also looked around the premises to ensure they were clean and safe for people who lived at the service.

We used a number of different methods to help always understand the experiences of people who lived at the service. We undertook general observations of the service and the care people received. We also used the Short Observational Framework for Inspection(SOFI). SOFI is a way of observing care to help understand the experience of people who could not talk to us.

Updated 25 August 2018

This unannounced inspection took place on 30 July and 2 August 2018.

Rowan Garth Care Home is registered to provide nursing and residential care for up to 120 people. The service is set in pleasant spacious grounds and is situated in a suburb of Liverpool close to the city centre. The service consists of four single-storey units and provides care to people with both nursing and residential needs. Two of the units specialise in dementia care. Each of the units has its own dining room, lounge, quiet/library area and unit manager’s office. At the time of the inspection 106 people were living at the service.

Rowan Garth is a ‘care home’. People in care homes receive accommodation and nursing or personal care as single package under one contractual agreement. The Care Quality Commission (CQC) regulates both the premises and the care provided, and both were looked at during this inspection.

At the time of our inspection a temporary manager was in post as the registered manager had recently left the service. A registered manager is a person who has registered with CQC 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.

Each of the people we spoke with told us they felt safe living at Rowan Garth. Staff we spoke with understood their responsibilities in relation to safeguarding people from abuse and mistreatment and were able to explain how they would report any concerns.

Arrangements were in place with external contractors to ensure the premises were kept safe.

We found that medicines were managed safely. Medicines were stored correctly and were administered by staff who were trained to do so.

We looked at how accidents and incidents were reported in the service and found they were managed appropriately.

Staff's suitability to work at the home had been checked prior to employment to ensure that they were suitable to work with vulnerable people.

People’s care requirements were identified and recorded in their care records. We also saw that people were appropriately referred to external health professionals when required. This helped to maintain people’s health and well-being.

People and their relatives were involved in the formulation of their care plans. We saw that people’s preferences were considered. Staff supported people in a person-centred way and treated them with respect.

Staff sought consent from people before providing support. Staff we spoke with understood the principles of the Mental Capacity Act 2005 (MCA) to ensure people consented to the care they received. The MCA is legislation which protects the powers of the people to make their own decisions.

We found there were enough staff on duty to meet people’s needs. Interactions we observed between staff and people living in the service were warm and caring. Staff treated people with respect and took care to maintain people’s privacy and dignity.

There was an open visiting policy for friends and family. This helped people feel supported. For people who had no one to represent them, the service supported them in finding an advocate to ensure that their views and wishes were considered.

The service employed three activities co-ordinators who facilitated varied daily social activities between the units. People told us they could take part and have a say in what activities they would like to do.

We asked people what they thought about mealtimes and feedback was mixed. People told us they had a choice of main meal and the menu rotated monthly. We spoke with staff and found they were knowledgeable about people’s preferences and dietary requirements.

The home had a complaints procedure in place. People and staff told us they would feel comfortable in raising any concerns they had with the manager.

The service was clean and easy for people to navigate. We have made a recommendation about making the environment more suited to the needs of people living with dementia. For example, better signage to help orientate people to toilets and bathrooms and painting doors to people's bedrooms different colours to help them identify their own room.