16 August 2016
During a routine 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.
People felt safe in the home. Staff understood the need to protect people from harm and abuse and knew what action they should take if they had any concerns. Staffing levels ensured that people received the support they required at the times they needed. There were sufficient staff to meet the needs of the people and recruitment procedures protected people from receiving unsafe care from care staff unsuited to the job.
Care records contained risk assessments and risk management plans to protect people from identified risks and helped to keep them safe but also enabled positive risk taking. They gave information for staff on the identified risk and informed staff on the measures to take to minimise any risks.
People were supported to take their medicines as prescribed. Records showed that medicines were obtained, stored, administered and disposed of safely. People were supported to maintain good health and had access to healthcare services when needed.
Improvements were required to ensure that people received the correct support with their meals and this was done with a person centred approach. People’s nutritional needs were assessed and people were suitably supported with their healthcare. People were actively involved in decisions about their care and support needs. There were formal systems in place to assess people’s capacity for decision making under the Mental Capacity Act 2005 and Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS).
Staff supported people in a caring and compassionate manner. People had their privacy and dignity respected and visitors were welcome at any time.
Care plans described the support people required and explained people’s preferences and routines. People were given choices about how and where they spent their time and this was respected by staff. People and their relatives were involved in reviewing their care and when suggestions were made, this was fully considered by the staff.
There was a complaints procedure in place and people were supported and empowered to make a complaint if they wished to. Complaints were investigated and appropriate actions were taken.
The registered manager had a number of systems in place to monitor the quality of the service. People at the home reacted positively to the registered manager and the culture within the home focussed upon supporting people’s health and well-being. Systems were in place for the home to receive and act on feedback and policies and procedures were available which reflected the care provided at the home.