Archived: Hawthorn Farm

The last inspection visit took place on 29 April 2015 and the service was rated Good.

Hawthorn Farm is part of Positive Care, a family run business which provides support to people with mental health needs and has one other location. Hawthorn Farm is registered to provide accommodation and personal care for up to 11 people who have mental health needs. At the time of our inspection there were 11 people living at the service.

The day to day running of the home was undertaken by the unit manager who the registered manager worked closely with to ensure the service was run effectively. The registered manager was the registered manager for both of Positive Care’s locations and a director with Positive Care. 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.

During the inspection, we saw medicines were not always managed safely.

Staff appraisals were not all up to date. We recommended that staff receive support through appropriate professional development to enable them to carry out their duties.

The service had a safeguarding policy. Staff had attended safeguarding training and knew how to report safeguarding concerns. Risks assessments were in place to minimise the risk to people using the service and staff knew how to record incidents and accidents. The provider followed safe recruitment procedures.

There were service checks carried out to ensure the environment was safe.

Staff had the relevant skills to care for people using the service and were supported through supervision and training. There were enough staff to meet people’s needs.

Mental Capacity Act 2005 guidance was being followed and people had choices.

People were supported to have enough to eat and drink and were able to have food and drinks when they wanted to.

People had access health care services and the service worked with other community based agencies such as the community mental health team.

People who used the service told us staff were kind and their dignity and privacy was respected.

Care plans were person centred and up to date. We saw people were involved in contributing to their reviews.

An appropriate complaints procedure was available.

The service had systems to monitor the quality of service delivered and to ensure the needs of the people who used the service were being met.

The unit manager and registered manager were approachable. Staff and people using the service said the managers listened to what they had to say.

Renovation works for the home were being planned for the end of 2016.

We found a breach of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014. You can see what action we told the provider to take at the back of the full version of the report.

People who use the service said they were able to spend their time as they wished and that the staff were there to support them when they needed them.

The staff demonstrated an in-depth knowledge of each person's needs and how they liked to be supported. We observed that the people who use the service and the staff had developed positive relationships with each other. The staff treated people with respect and spoke with people in a courteous and professional manner.

People were involved in identifying where they needed support and how this was to be provided. This was reflected in the care plans and risk management plans which detailed how people's needs were to be met through their time at Hawthorn Farm.

The staff demonstrated a knowledge of safeguarding issues and the lines of reporting of these to ensure that any safeguarding issue would be appropriately investigated.

The home was generally clean, though there were some areas that needed attention to minimise risks to people.

The staffing levels of the home put people at risk. This was noted in relation to the administration of certain medicines, which should be done in the presence of two staff, yet this did not always happen. We also found that records relating to the administration of a medicine were insufficient and put people at risk of receiving inappropriate medicines.

People told us they were happy with the care and support provided at the home. They said they had personal choices in all aspects of their daily lives and that staff respected the choices they made. People told us they were involved in making decisions about their care and any care reviews that took place.

People told us they received their medication on time. One person told us the staff arranged their leave medication. The provider had in place appropriate arrangements for the management of medicines.

One person told us that the staff were 'alright'. We observed staff supporting people and saw that they had a clear understanding of people's needs and preferences.

The provider had systems in place to monitor the quality of services provided. Satisfaction surveys of people, their relatives and stakeholders were carried out and action plans were in place to address areas where improvement had been identified.