23 October 2014
During an inspection looking at part of the service
When we inspected the service in June 2014 we found that care was not always planned and delivered in such a way as to meet people's individual needs, that staff had not always received appropriate training and that accurate records had not been maintained. Following our visit, the provider sent us a report setting out the action they would take to meet the regulations.
This inspection was carried out by an adult social care inspector. We spoke with the manager, three administrators, nine care workers, six people who received a service and three relatives. We looked at six people's care records and five staff files. We visited one person in their home and met with one of their relatives. We spoke with all of the other people, their relatives and care workers by telephone following our visit. We considered all the evidence we had gathered. We found that the manager had taken action to address the concerns identified at our last inspection but that further action was required to meet the regulations.
People's care had been planned and care plans included detail for staff on how to meet their needs. We found that care plans had been updated and reviewed. People, their relatives and staff told us that there had been improvements in the service. One relative said, 'They are improving, the staff seem more content'. A member of staff told us, 'In the last two to three months I have seen a big change. It has definitely changed for the better'.
The service had increased their training offer and weekly training sessions had been introduced. We found, however, that there was no clear system to record the training delivered and to plan for future training needs. This meant that some staff had not been trained or received refresher training in areas such as moving and handling or administering medication. This meant that staff may not be supported to care for people safely and to an appropriate standard.
We found that the service had made improvements in record keeping in relation to people's care but that records relating to staff training were still not fit for purpose.
We have asked the provider to tell us what further action they are going to undertake in order to meet the requirements of the law in the areas of staff training and record keeping.