Gleneagle House

Updated 20 December 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.

We inspected the service on 20 November 2018. This inspection was unannounced and carried out by one inspector and an Expert 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 reviewed information we held about the service. This included any safeguarding alerts, inspection reports and notifications that the provider had sent to CQC. A notification is information about important events which the service is required to send to us by law. We also viewed a Provider Information Return (PIR) completed by the provider. The PIR is 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.

During our visit we spoke with four people living at the home. We talked to the registered manager, deputy manager and one staff members working for this service. We looked at care records for four people and reviewed records related to staff training and recruitment, safeguarding, incidents and accidents, management of medicines, audits and other aspects of the service management.

During the inspection, we talked to one healthcare professional asking for their feedback about the service.

Updated 20 December 2018

Sophia Maria House is a 'care home'. People in care homes receive accommodation and nursing or personal care as single package under one contractual agreement. CQC regulates both the premises and the care provided, and both were looked at during this inspection.

Sophia Maria House is registered to provide accommodation for up to seven women who require support with their mental health needs. At the time of the inspection there were seven people living at the service.

This inspection took place on 20 November 2018 and was unannounced.

At the last inspection, carried out on 21 June 2016, the service was rated Good. At this inspection we found the evidence continued to support the rating of Good and there was no evidence or information from our inspection and on-going monitoring that demonstrated serious risks or concerns. This inspection report is written in a shorter format because our overall rating of the service has not changed since our last inspection.

The service had 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.

Staff followed the provider’s procedures to support people to stay safe from abuse and from any incidents and accidents occurring. Staff carried out pre-employment checks before they started working with people to ensure their suitability for the role. Some people told us there was not enough staff to support them during the day, but we found that staffing levels were regularly assessed to meet people’s care and support needs.

Comprehensive risk assessments were in place to protect people from potential risks in the community. However, there were no risk assessments for people who smoked, some medicines protocols were not provided for staff and information was missing on the actions staff had to take to support people to leave the building safely in an event of fire. The registered manager took immediate action to address these concerns and updated records to ensure people’s safety.

Where people required support to prepare their meals or attend to their health needs, staff provided them with appropriate assistance.

Mental Capacity Act (2005) principles were followed by staff to support people in the decision-making process.

Systems were in place to review and monitor staff’s developmental needs. Staff completed training relevant to their role to ensure they had the required knowledge and skills to support people effectively. Although staff were aware of people’s mental health needs, they were not provided with a mental health awareness training. This was addressed by the registered manager in a timely manner after the inspection.

Staff were caring towards people’s support needs and helped people to make decisions related to their daily lives. People were encouraged to be as independent as possible and make choices about their everyday activities. Staff provided support that was respectful towards people’s care needs and privacy. People had assistance to maintain their relationships where necessary.

People were involved in planning their care and staff had access to information on how people wanted to be supported. People’s care needs were assessed and recorded appropriately to ensure consistent care provision. People provided feedback about the services they received.

People, health professionals and the staff members we spoke to felt that the service was well led which ensured good care for people. Systems were in place to support and motivate staff in their role and to encourage them to take responsibility for the care provision. Quality assurance processes were used to monitor staff’s performance and to review care records making sure they reflected people’s changing needs.