Archived: Scott's View at South Farm

Updated 13 July 2017

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 was 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 took place on 3 May 2017 and was announced.

The provider was given a short period of notice because the service was a small care home and the people who lived there were often out during the day; we needed to be sure that someone would be in.

We looked at the information we held about the home such as notifications, which are events that happened in the home that the provider is required to tell us about. We also contacted other agencies who work with the provider such as service commissioners.

We spoke with both people who lived in the home. We looked at both people’s care records. We also spent time observing how staff provided care for people to help us better understand their experiences of care.

We spoke with two staff members and the provider. We looked at two staff files, supervision and appraisal arrangements and staff duty rotas. We also looked at records and arrangements for managing complaints and monitoring and assessing the quality of the service provided within the home.

Updated 13 July 2017

We inspected Scott’s View at South Farm on 3 May 2017. The inspection was announced.

Scott’s View at South Farm provides care and support for up to five people who may experience learning disabilities, or older people with memory loss associated with conditions such as dementia. It is located in a rural setting on the east coast of Lincolnshire. Two people were living in the home at the time of our inspection. The provider was also the manager of the home. We refer to this person as ‘the provider’ throughout the report.

At our last comprehensive inspection on 9 December 2015 we identified three breaches of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2017. This was because medicine arrangements and staff recruitment procedures were not sufficiently robust to protect people. In addition, the provider did not have suitable arrangements in place to effectively monitor and assess the quality of the services people received.

We carried out a focused inspection on 20 May 2016 to check whether the provider had made improvements to the ways in which they managed medicines, recruited staff and monitored the quality of the service. At this inspection we found the provider had made sufficient improvements to the way in which they managed medicines and recruited staff. However, they had not made sufficient improvements to the way in which they monitored the quality of the service. This was a continued breach of Regulation 17 Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2017.

We carried out a further focused inspection on 23 November 2016 to check whether the provider had made improvements to the way in which they monitored the quality of the service. At the inspection we found that the provider had made sufficient improvements to the way in which they monitored the quality of the service to ensure they met the legal requirements.

We did not revise the rating for the key questions ‘Is the service safe?’ and Is the service ‘well-led?’ at our focused inspections as this would require a longer term track record of consistent good practice.

During this comprehensive inspection we found that the provider had maintained the improvements we saw at our focused inspections.

CQC is required by law to monitor the operation of the Mental Capacity Act 2005 (MCA) and Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS) and to report on what we find. DoLS are in place to protect people where they do not have capacity to make decisions and where it is considered

necessary to restrict their freedom in some way, usually to protect themselves.

The provider acted in accordance with the MCA and understood how to implement DoLS when required. People were supported to make their own decisions where ever possible. When it was not possible the provider ensured that decisions were made in people’s best interests.

People felt safe and well cared for at Scott’s View at South Farm. System were in place to keep people safe and staff understood how to identify and report any safety concerns. We noted one area of the environment which posed a potential risk to people’s safety which the provider took immediate action to rectify.

Arrangements were in place for the safe management of medicines and people were supported to access all of the health care services they required. People were supported to enjoy a varied diet and to eat and drink enough to stay healthy.

There were enough staff available to ensure people received individual support in a timely and appropriate manner. Care plans were in place to guide staff as to how best to meet people’s needs and wishes. People’s privacy and dignity was maintained and staff provided support in a warm and caring manner.

People were able to enjoy a varied social life and had access to a range of meaningful activities. People were encouraged to make use of local amenities and be an active part of the local community.

People who lived in the home and staff members felt able to raise any concerns or issues with the provider. They were confident that they would be listened to and that the provider would take appropriate action to resolve their concerns.

Staff were supported to undertake a range of training to ensure they had the skills and knowledge to meet people’s needs. They also received regular support and supervision to help them further develop their skills and knowledge.

Systems were in place to regularly review and monitor the quality of services provided within the home. Prompt actions were taken to address any issues highlighted by quality audits.