20 July 2016
During a routine inspection
Powbeck House is operated by Cumbria County Council. The home is purpose built to accommodate up to 38 older people. The home is situated in a residential area and is near to local amenities.
The house has four units with living/ dining areas and single bedrooms, some of which have en-suite toilet facilities. The ground floor units accommodate people who may be living with dementia.
There is a secure well maintained garden.
There was a registered manager in post on the day of our inspection visit.
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.
People who lived in Powbeck House told us they felt safe living in the home. Relatives said they were pleased with the support and caring attitude of all the staff.
People were fully assessed prior to moving in to the home. This ensured that appropriate and suitable care and support could be provided at all times.
We found that staff were aware of their roles and responsibilities to keep people safe at all times. There were procedures to follow if staff had any concerns about the safety of people they supported.
Staff were recruited appropriately which ensured people were supported by a staff team that were suitable to care for vulnerable people.
The registered manager provided details that evidenced staff training was up to date. Staff confirmed they received training appropriate to their roles within the staff team.
Medicines were being safely administered and stored and we saw that accurate records were being kept of medicines received and disposed of so all medicines could be accounted for.
The registered manager was aware of her responsibilities under the Mental Capacity Act 2005. Where any person was being deprived of their liberty a Deprivation of Liberty Authority was sought.
We spent time with people in all areas of the home. We saw that the staff offered people assistance and found the time to speak to people and took up the opportunities they had to interact with them and offer reassurance if needed. People living in the home told us that care staff were mindful of their privacy and treated them with respect. We saw that the staff approached people in a friendly and respectful way and people told us that it was a “friendly” and “comfortable” place to live.
Health care needs were met through good working relationships with external health care professionals. Dietary needs and nutrition were well managed.
Health and social care professionals were positive about the care and services delivered. We had evidence to show that the staff team worked well with other professionals.
There was an appropriate internal quality audit system in place to monitor the quality of the service provided.
People knew how they could complain about the service they received and information about how to do this was displayed in the home. People were confident that action would be taken in response to any concerns they raised.