Archived: Baylham Care Centre Limited

At our last inspection on 23 July 2015, the service was rated good overall and required improvement in the safe key question, during that inspection we found that the service did not have suitable arrangements in place for the safe management of medicines. Nor were the medicines stored safely for the protection of people who used the service. At this inspection we found the service had promptly made the necessary changes to the way they managed and stored medicines and had made significant improvements in the quality of service they offered people overall. They were now offering an outstanding service to the people who lived at the Baylham Care Centre, the standard of care at the home was exceptional, innovative, person centred and creative.

The service had a registered manager. 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. Statutory notifications received showed us that the registered manager understood their registration requirements.

The people who lived in the service told us that they felt safe and very well cared for. They believed that the care workers were committed to caring for them to a high standard and knew what support they needed to be well looked after.

Staff were well trained and supported to meet people’s needs and to keep them safe. They were able to clearly describe their roles and responsibilities as well as the organisational structure and who they would go to for support if this was needed.The staff were highly motivated and there were ample numbers of staff on duty at every level to protect people from harm. Risks to people were assessed and steps had been put in place to safeguard people from harm without restricting their independence unnecessarily.

People were always asked for their consent by staff before supporting them in their day to day care. Staff were provided with training in safeguarding adults from abuse, Mental Capacity Act (MCA) 2005 and Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS). The registered manager knew how to make a referral if required. People were supported to have maximum choice and full control of their lives and staff supported them in the least restrictive ways possible; the policies and systems in the service supported this practice.

People’s mealtime experiences were positive and an enjoyable part of their day. They were supported to eat and drink enough to maintain a balanced diet. They were also supported to maintain good health, regain abilities after serious illness and fully access healthcare services. The service also offered rehabilitation and physiotherapy to people and had their own in house physiotherapy and occupational therapist teams.

We saw many excellent examples of positive and caring interactions between the staff and people living in the service. Staff went out of their way to make people feel that they were the centre of attention and that they got what they needed to retain control of their lives and to have their say in the running of the service. People were able to express their views openly and staff listened to what they said and took action to ensure their decisions were acted on. The service had a dignity champion who promoted the protection of people’s privacy and dignity.

People received care that was extremely person centred and responsive to their needs. The service listened to people’s experiences. They took steps to investigate complaints and welcomed them as a tool to drive improvements in the service offered. However, compliments and praise outnumbered the number of complaints by far.

The service was led at an outstanding level by a passionate and committed registered manager. People using the service, their relatives and the staff all told us that the registered manager was open, supportive and had superior management skills. In turn the registered manager felt they were extremely well supported by the directors, who also gained praise from the people who lived in the service and their relatives. Outside professional agencies also judged the service as offering an excellent service and they had been given several awards. There were systems in place to monitor and maintain the high quality of service the organisation offered people.

Further information is in the detailed findings below

We found that people's needs were well supported by the service. People had regular access to other healthcare professionals and assessments were in place to manage the risks faced by each individual. Staff understood the needs of people who have dementia and demonstrated that they knew how to maintain people's dignity and independence. We saw that plans were in place to further develop the care provided to people with dementia.

We found that the premises were clean on the day of our inspection. Infection control procedures were followed by staff, who demonstrated that they knew how to minimise the spread of infection.

People had access to nutritious and appetising food and were supported to maintain a healthy fluid balance. We saw that people were supported discreetly by staff at lunch time and that people enjoyed their food.

We spoke with a relative visiting the service. They were very positive about the care, treatment and support their relative received at Baylham Care Centre. They told us that since their relative had moved to the service they had 'Come on in leaps and bounds'. They told us that staff were always ready to listen and that they were kept informed about changes to their relative's health and wellbeing.

We found that care was provided according to people's assessed needs and people were asked for their views about the service. We spoke with seven staff who told us that they enjoyed working at the service. We found that staff were recruited appropriately, well trained and had the skills required to provide safe care.