Archived: Median Road Care Home

Updated 13 April 2015

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.

This inspection was unannounced. The inspection was carried out by two inspectors 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.

Prior to our inspection we reviewed information we held about the service, including notifications about significant events such as safeguarding concerns.

We spoke with nine people who used the service and observed how people were being cared for. We looked around the home and observed lunch being prepared. We talked with five staff including, the registered manager, deputy manager and three support workers. We also spoke with two external health care professionals who had been in contact with the service.

We reviewed records about people’s care, including five people’s care files. We looked at three staff files, and records relating to how the home was managed. These included records of complaints, incidents, audits and quality monitoring reports and minutes of’ 'residents’ meetings.

Updated 13 April 2015

This inspection took place on 9 December 2014 and was unannounced. At the last inspection which took place on 3 and 4 June 2014 the service had not met the regulations we inspected in relation to respecting and involving people, safeguarding people from abuse, staff support, complaints and quality monitoring. The provider completed an action plan detailing what improvements would be made to improve the quality and safety of the service.

Median Road Care Home is a care home providing a range of short-term interim, respite and intermediate care for up to 37 people. At the time of inspection there were 17 people who were still using the service, all of whom had dementia.

There was a registered manager 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 and associated Regulations about how the service is run.

At this inspection we found that the provider was meeting all the regulations inspected.

People told us they felt safe. Staff followed procedures to protect people from the risk of abuse and neglect and knew what action to take if they had concerns about a person’s welfare. Health and safety risks were assessed and action taken to reduce these whilst promoting people’s independence.

Staff were knowledgeable about how to meet people's needs. They received regular training and supervision and had the knowledge skills they needed to carry out their roles and responsibilities.

The provider followed procedures under the Mental Capacity Act 2005 and Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards processes to provide legal protection for people who lacked mental capacity to decide about specific issues, such as where they lived.

There was good joint working with health and social care professionals.

People said staff were caring and treated them with dignity and respect. Staff were attentive to people’s needs and promptly assisted them when they needed. The service had taken steps to involve and consult people and their relatives about their care. People’s needs were assessed at the point of admission. Their care plans outlined the support they needed and people received support in line with their plans. People had access to a range of health and social care professionals to plan and meet their needs. Activities had increased providing people with more choice about how they spent their time. People knew how to complain and people’s views and experiences were taken into account and listened to.

The service was well-led. Staff said they felt supported by the manager and the organisation, despite significant changes within the service. The service was regularly monitored by the registered manager to check the quality and effectiveness of the service, to improve the standard of the services provided to people and ensure their health and welfare.