Archived: TLC Care Homes Limited (Summer House)

Updated 8 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 was planned to check 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.

The inspection took place on the 30 May 2018 and 5 June 2018 and was unannounced.

The inspection was carried out by one inspector and an Assistant Inspector, We visited the office of TLC Care Homes(Summer House) where we met the Area Manager(Mid Essex), Area/Registered Manager(South Region) and Operations Director. We spoke with three staff members, visited people in their homes and spoke to their relatives over the phone.

We looked at notifications received by the Care Quality Commission (CQC). A notification is information about important events which the service is required to send us by law. We also looked at safeguarding concerns reported to CQC. This is where one or more person’s health, wellbeing or human rights may not have been properly protected and they may have suffered harm, abuse or neglect.

Updated 8 August 2018

This inspection took place on the 30 May 2018 and 5 June 2018 it was announced. The service was last inspected in April 2015 and rated Good overall.

TLC Care homes Limited (Summer House) provides personal care to people in supported living settings in Westcliffe, Great Dunmow, Saffron Walden, Earls Colne, Basildon, Halstead and Colchester. People using the service have a learning disability and may have a mental health diagnosis. There are two registered managers for this service. At the time of our inspection the service was supporting 21 people.

The service had two registered managers in post, with one covering services in the Mid Essex region and the other covering services in the South Essex region. The registered manager for the South Essex region was also an area manager. We were unable to speak to the registered manager for the Mid Essex region as they were away during our inspection, in their absence the area manager (Mid Essex) and Director of Operations were managing and monitoring service in that region. ‘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 a legal responsibility for meeting the requirements in the Health and Social Care Act 2008 and associated Regulations about how the service is run.

The service was not consistently Well Led. The quality assurance system was not effective because it had not identified the areas of concern. There were no plans in place to demonstrate what action the provider / registered managers were going to take to mitigate risks in relation to the health, safety and welfare of people using the service. Further improvements were required to ensure that the management team had a complete oversight of the management of people’s finances.

There were sufficient numbers of staff on duty to meet the needs of people and keep them safe from potential harm or abuse. People’s health and wellbeing needs were assessed and reviewed to minimise risk to health and wellbeing. The provider had a good management and monitoring structure in place for medication.

People were cared for and supported by staff who had received training to meet their needs. The registered manager had a good understanding of their responsibilities in relation to the Mental Capacity Act 2005 and the Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards. People were supported to eat and drink enough as to ensure they maintained a balanced diet and referrals to health and social care services were made when required.

Staff cared for people in an empathetic and kind manner. Staff had a good understanding of people’s preferences. Staff always worked hard to promote people’s independence through encouraging and supporting people to make informed decisions.

People and their relatives were involved in the planning and review of their care. Care plans were reviewed on a regular basis and when there was a change in people’s care needs. People were supported to follow their interests and participate in social activities. Complaints were responded to in a timely manner.