Smithy Forge

Updated 7 February 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.

The inspection took place on 12 January 2018 and was announced. It was carried out by an Adult Social Care Inspection manager. The manager was given 24 hours’ notice because the location is a small care home for adults who may be out during the day; we needed to be sure that someone would be in.

Before the inspection we contacted Halton Council contracts department. They told us that they had no concerns about the service. We looked at all of the information that CQC had received about and from, the service since the last inspection. This included notifications about issues that had happened in the service.

During the inspection we looked at all parts of the premises. We spoke with the registered manager, and one other member of staff. We met with three people who lived at the home. We observed staff interacting with people in the home. We looked at medication records. We looked at staff rotas and training records. We looked at maintenance records. We looked at care records for two of the people who lived at the home.

Updated 7 February 2018

Smithy Forge 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. The service is registered to provide accommodation for up to six people who require support and care with their daily lives.

At the last inspection the service was rated Good. At this inspection we found the service remained Good.

We spoke with three people who lived in the home who all gave positive feedback about the home and the staff who worked in it.

Staff spoken with and records seen confirmed training had been provided to enable them to support the people with their specific needs. We found staff were knowledgeable about the support needs of people in their care. We observed staff providing support to people throughout our inspection visit. We saw they had positive relationships with the people in their care as they had been supporting them for a long time as there had been no staffing changes and no new people coming to live in the home for over 10 years.

We found medication procedures at the home were safe. Staff responsible for the administration of medicines had received training to ensure they had the competency and skills required.

The registered manager understood the requirements of the Mental Capacity Act 2005 (MCA) and the Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS). This meant they were working within the law to support people who may lack capacity to make their own decisions. We saw that people were supported to make their own decisions and their choices were respected.

Care plans were person centred and driven by the people who lived who lived in the home. We saw clear one page profiles that gave clear information about the most important aspects of their care for that person. They detailed how people wished and needed to be cared for. They were regularly reviewed and updated as required.

The registered manager and the provider used a variety of methods to assess and monitor the quality of the service. These included regular audits of the service and staff meetings to seek the views of staff about the service. The staff team were consistent and long standing. They demonstrated that they were committed to providing the best care possible for the people living in the home.