Valley Park Care Home

Valley Park Care Home is a care home providing accommodation for up to 53 older people, including people living with dementia. At the time of the inspection there were 25 people living at the home.

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

The service was safe, and people received care from staff who were safely recruited and inducted into the role. Personal protective equipment was readily available to staff and all staff were trained on how to keep people safe from the risk of infection and use PPE correctly. Through observation and discussions with staff, it was clear training was well embedded. The home was clean and tidy. There were enough staff available to keep people safe and meet their needs in a timely manner. Medicines were managed in a safe and proper way.

The registered manager was well thought of and there was effective management oversight of the quality and safety of the service. A range of audits and checks were undertaken to ensure continuous improvement of the service. These had been fully implemented since the last inspection and covered all aspects of service delivery.

Rating at last inspection

The last rating for this service was Requires Improvement (published 11 July 2019).

Why we inspected

We undertook this targeted inspection to follow up on specific concerns identified at the previous inspection; in respect of staffing levels, medicines management and the provider’s audit processes. A decision was made for us to inspect and examine those risks.

CQC have introduced targeted inspections to follow up on Warning Notices or to check specific concerns. They do not look at an entire key question, only the part of the key question we are specifically concerned about. Targeted inspections do not change the rating from the previous inspection. This is because they do not assess all areas of a key question.

We found no evidence during this inspection that people were at risk of harm from these concerns.

Please see the safe and well-led section of this full report.

You can read the report from our last comprehensive inspection, by selecting the ‘all reports’ link for Valley Park Care Home on our website at www.cqc.org.uk.

Follow up

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

Valley Park Care Home is a residential home that was providing accommodation and personal care to 42 people at the time of the inspection. Some people who used the service were living with dementia.

People’s experience of using this service:

The service had significantly improved since the previous inspection and almost all feedback had been robustly addressed before we came to inspect. The provider had appointed a new manager, who was experienced and committed in continuing to raise standards at the service. Staff told us the new manager was approachable and organised. People and their visitors recognised the service had improved.

People told us there were sufficient numbers of staff to keep people safe but staff were sometimes rushed providing support. The manager responded to feedback and by day two of the inspection they had increased the staffing provision at the service. We have made a recommendation about considering the views of people, visitors and staff, when making decisions about the service.

People told us they received safe, caring support at the service. People received their medicines when they needed them, and there were systems in place to ensure people were protected against the risk of abuse. We identified minor improvements were required to ensure people’s medicines were always stored under optimal conditions, which was fedback to the manager. The premises were clean and there was good infection control practice in place. There was a friendly atmosphere at Valley Park Care Home, and we saw people looked well cared for.

People’s needs were assessed, and care was planned and delivered in a person-centred way, in line with legislation and guidance. Staff knew people and their needs well, and we saw caring interventions and conversations throughout our inspection, albeit these were sometimes task-led. People said they enjoyed their meals and their dietary needs and preferences were met.

People were supported to have maximum choice and control over their lives and staff supported them in the least restrictive way possible; the policies and systems in the service supported this practice. When people were unable to make their own decisions about their care and support, the principles of the Mental Capacity Act (2005) were followed.

The manager conducted audits and checks to further ensure the quality of care and support provided to people. Some quality assurances processes were either new or in development, so the effectiveness of these checks was relatively untested and needed more time to embed. Complaints and concerns were well managed, and the manager took prompt action to address any minor issues we raised during the inspection.

Rating at last inspection: Requires Improvement (report published in November 2018). The service had improved at this inspection. The key areas of ‘effective’ and ‘responsive’ improved from requires improvement to good; the key area ‘well-led’ improved from inadequate to requires improvement.

Why we inspected: This was a scheduled inspection based on the previous rating.

Follow up: We will continue to monitor intelligence we receive about the service until we are scheduled to return. We inspect according to a schedule based on the current rating, however may inspect sooner if we receive information of concern.

For more details, please see the full report which is on the CQC website at www.cqc.org.uk

Valley Park is a ‘care home’. People in care homes receive accommodation and nursing or personal care as a single package under one contractual agreement. CQC regulates both the premises and the care provided, and both were looked at during this inspection. Valley Park is registered to provide residential accommodation for up to 56 older people, including those living with dementia. The home is located in Wombwell, near Barnsley. At the time of this inspection there were 38 people living at Valley Park.

There was a registered manager employed at the service. 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.

There were not enough staff employed at Valley Park. This was impacting on all aspects of the service and the tool used to determine staffing levels was ineffective. A different staff dependency tool was implemented after the first day of this inspection, which calculated more staff were required.

The registered provider had failed to ensure staff received appropriate training, support, supervision and appraisals to enable them to carry out their role effectively.

People’s care records did not show whether they had been involved in decisions and had consented to their care, treatment and support. People’s care records needed updating to reflect their current care and support needs. We saw plans were in place to improve care records. The local authority was supporting the registered manager to do this.

The quality assurance and audit systems in place to monitor and improve service delivery were not effective. Action plans were not completed when areas for improvement had been identified.

The registered provider employed an activity coordinator for 30 hours per week, however this member of staff also covered for care staff shortages. People told us they would like more activities and things to do.

Staff understood what it meant to protect people from abuse. They knew how to report unsafe practice.

Medicines were stored safely and securely, and procedures were in place to ensure people received their medicines as prescribed.

We saw the premises were clean and well maintained. Staff understood their roles and responsibilities in relation to infection control and hygiene.

Staff understood the requirements of the Mental Capacity Act 2005. People were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff supported them in the least restrictive way possible. The registered provider’s policies and systems supported this practice.

People told us they enjoyed the food served at Valley Park, which we saw took into account their dietary needs and preferences.

We saw the signage and decoration of the premises were suitable to meet the needs of people living with dementia.

Positive and supportive relationships had been developed between people, their relatives, and staff. People told us they were treated with dignity and respect.

There was a complaints procedure displayed in the reception area. People told us they were confident in reporting any concerns to the staff and registered manager.

The service had policies and procedures which reflected current legislation and good practice guidance, however staff did not have access to paper copies of all of them. On the second day of this inspection all the policies and procedures had been printed out so staff could now access them.

Safety and maintenance checks for the premises and equipment were in place and up to date.

We found two breaches of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014. These were a breach of Regulation 18, Staffing and Regulation 17, Good governance.

You can see what action we told the registered provider to take at the back of the full version of the report.