Archived: Arden House

Updated 13 July 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

Arden House is a care home. People in care homes receive accommodation and nursing or personal care. The Care Quality Commission (CQC) regulates both the premises and the care provided, and both were looked at during this inspection.

The service had a manager registered with CQC. 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

The inspection was announced. We gave the service 48 hours’ notice of the inspection visit because it is a small service for younger adults who are often out during the day. We wanted to be sure that they would be home to speak with us.

What we did before the inspection

We reviewed the information we had received about the service since the last inspection. This includes details about incidents the provider must notify us about, such as abuse. We used the information the provider sent us in the provider information return. This is information providers are required to send us with key information about their service, what they do well, and improvements they plan to make. This information helps support our inspections.

During the inspection we spoke with one person, one staff member and the registered manager. We reviewed a range of records which included one person’s care plan, recruitment, training and supervision records and records relating to the quality monitoring and management of the service.

Updated 13 July 2019

About the service

Arden House is registered to accommodate up to three people who are experiencing mental health difficulties. Arden House is a small terraced house in a residential area of Gillingham. At the time of the inspection there was one person living at the service.

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

People told us they felt safe living at Arden House and that they trusted the staff. People said, “I feel safe and know that I can talk to the staff or the manager if I am worried about something”.

The service was small, clean and homely. People had been able to personalise their home with pictures, ornaments and photos. People told us they enjoyed spending time in the garden in the nice weather. People were protected from the risks of abuse, harm and discrimination. Staff understood how to recognise signs of abuse and knew how to report any concerns.

Staff continued to be recruited safely. There were enough staff to meet people’s needs and there were contingency plans to cover any emergency shortfalls. People made decisions about the level of support they received. They were supported to have maximum choice and control over their lives and staff supported them in the least restrictive ways possible. Policies and systems in the service supported this.

People chose what they wanted to do each day and where they wanted to spend their time. Their independence was encouraged. People’s mental health, welfare and physical health were monitored. Staff knew people well and told us that they were able to observe very small changes in a person’s demeanour which may indicate needing additional support with their mental health. Staff supported people with their medical appointments and helped them stay as healthy and well as possible.

The registered manager led a small team of staff who had worked at the service for a long time and provided consistency for people. Effective audits and checks were completed. When a shortfall was identified, action was taken to reduce the risk of it happening again.

Rating at last inspection

At the last inspection on 27 March 2018 the service was rated Requires Improvement overall. (Published 08 June 2018). We found two breaches of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014. The provider had failed to take appropriate action to mitigate risks to people’s health and welfare. The provider had failed to manage medicines safely. We required the provider to take action to make improvements. The provider sent us an action plan detailing how they planned to address the breaches of Regulation. During this inspection we found the service had made and sustained the improvements and the breaches in Regulation had been met.

Why we inspected

This was a planned inspection based on the rating at the last inspection.

The service met the characteristics of Good in all areas and Good overall. For more details, please see the full report which is on the CQC website at www.cqc.org.uk

Follow up

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