Archived: Homelea

Updated 26 April 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 two inspectors.

Service and service type:

Homelea is a residential care home registered for 17 people, however, the provider has made a business and care related decision to only care for a maximum of 14 residents. On the day of our inspection, 11 people were living in the home. Many people were living with dementia. The service had a manager registered with the Care Quality Commission. 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:

We carried out this unannounced inspection on 20 March 2019 at the home.

What we did:

We reviewed the information we held about the service. This included the previous inspection report, notifications since the last inspection and feedback from the local authority. Notifications are changes, events and incidents that the service must inform us about.

During the inspection, we spoke to five people, two relatives and five staff. We reviewed care records and policies and procedures. We reviewed three people’s care records, and three staff files around staff recruitment, training and supervision. Records relating to the management of the service and a variety of policies and procedures developed and implemented by the provider were also reviewed.

Updated 26 April 2019

About the service:

Homelea is a care home without nursing for a maximum of 19 older people, some of whom are living with dementia. The provider has made a business and care related decision to only care for a maximum of 14 residents There were 11 people at the time of the inspection.

People’s experience of using this service:

People were cared for in a closely knit community at this home. The small size of the home meant that people were always surrounded by socialising people and caring staff. The downstairs lounge was the central hub of the home where people congregated and enjoyed activities together. People enjoyed their privacy and independence as this was respected by staff. People received person-centred care which was supported by detailed care plans.

There were insufficient quality compliance audits recorded and analysed by the registered manager. We made a recommendation regarding this. Where certain auditing needed improvement, the management team and provider were receptive and swift to implement changes. The registered manager led by example in providing person centred care and interacting with everyone who visited the service.

Staff were well trained to safely care for people and knew how to engage and empower them. People had access to health care professionals throughout the week.

People’s needs, choices and preferences were recorded in person centred care plans. The food at the service was enjoyed by people as they were able to choose what they ate from a menu that offered a variety of meals. The care records enabled staff to correctly provide care and support for people in a safe way. Complaints and concerns were recorded, responded to and used to consider improvements at the service.

Rating at last inspection:

Good (August 2016)

Why we inspected:

This was a scheduled comprehensive inspection. We inspect all services rated as 'Good' within 30 months to ensure that we regularly monitor and review the quality and safety of the service people receive.