Serenity UK Limited

Serenity UK Care Ltd is a residential care home providing accommodation and personal care for up to 6 people. The service provides support to women with mental health needs. At the time of our inspection there were 5 people using the service

People’s experience of using this service and what we found

People’s risks were assessed and reduced. Staff followed appropriate food safety practices and the environment of the care home was safe. There were enough staff available at all times and the provider carried out the appropriate checks to ensure staff were suitable to provide care and support. People’s medicines were administered by trained staff and audited by the registered manager. People were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff supported them in the least restrictive way possible and in their best interests; the policies and systems in the service supported this practice.

People decided how they received their care and were supported to achieve good outcomes. The registered manager audited the quality of the service people received and used feedback from people, relatives and staff to improve the service. The provider worked with others to ensure people’s changing needs were met.

Rating at last inspection and update

The last rating for this service was requires improvement (published 05 January 2023). The provider completed an action plan after the last inspection to show what they would do and by when to improve. At this inspection we found improvements had been made and the provider was no longer in breach of regulations.

Why we inspected

We undertook this focused inspection to check the provider had followed their action plan and to confirm they now met legal requirements. This report only covers our findings in relation to the key questions safe and well-led which contain those requirements. For those key questions not inspected, we used the ratings awarded at the last inspection to calculate the overall rating. The overall rating for the service has changed from requires improvement to Good. This is based on the findings at this inspection.

You can read the report from our last comprehensive inspection, by selecting the ‘all reports’ link for Serenity UK Limited on our website at www.cqc.org.uk

Follow up

We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service, which will help inform when we next inspect.

Serenity UK Care Ltd is a residential care home providing accommodation and personal care for to up to six people. The service provides support to women who have experienced mental health problems. At the time of our inspection there were six people using the service.

People’s experience of using this service and what we found

The service did not always make sure people received care and support in a safe and clean environment. The registered manager had not recognised and acted upon the environmental and infection control risk at the service.

Staff were not always clear of the management structure in place. Some important information was not reported to the Care Quality Commission and this meant we could not monitor the service appropriately to make sure people were safe. The registered manager acted on the concerns raised during our inspection. This included changing the way our ratings were displayed on the providers website. Staff told us they were able to report concerns and the registered manager would listen to them and make things better for people.

People told us they liked living at the service. Staff supported people safely with their medicines and these were regularly reviewed to make sure people had the right medicines at the right time. There were enough staff to give people the support they needed. Staff understood how to protect people from abuse. People were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff supported them in the least restrictive way possible and in their best interests; the policies and systems in the service supported this practice

For more details, please see the full report which is on the CQC website at www.cqc.org.uk

Rating at last inspection

The last rating for this service was good (published June 2018).

At our last inspection we recommended that the provider looked at ways to move the laundry facilities away from the kitchen to reduce the spread of infection. At this inspection we found the facilities had not changed although the provider had introduced the use of red bags to separate and transport soiled laundry.

Why we inspected

The inspection was prompted in part due to concerns received about the provider's other services. These are not currently registered with the CQC. The concerns indicated there may be issues with the way this service was managed and we wanted to be sure the issues raised did not extend to this regulated service. As a result, we undertook a focused inspection to review the key questions of safe and well-led only. For those key questions not inspected, we used the ratings awarded at the last inspection to calculate the overall rating.

The overall rating for the service has changed from good to requires improvement based on the findings of this inspection.

We have found evidence that the provider needs to make improvements. Please see the safe and well-led sections of this full report.

We looked at infection prevention and control measures under the Safe key question. We look at this in all care home inspections even if no concerns or risks have been identified. This is to provide assurance that the service can respond to COVID-19 and other infection outbreaks effectively.

You can see what action we have asked the provider to take at the end of this full report.

Enforcement

We have identified breaches in relation to environmental safety at the service and the way these risks have been managed. The provider had failed to notify us of certain events that they need to report to us. We have also asked the provider to change the way they display the CQC quality rating on their website to make it clearer for people to understand.

Please see the action we have told the provider to take at the end of this report.

Full information about CQC’s regulatory response to the more serious concerns found during inspections is added to reports after any representations and appeals have been concluded.

Follow up

We will request an action plan from the provider to understand what they will do to improve the standards of quality and safety. We will work alongside the provider, the local authority and the fire authority to monitor progress. We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service, which will help inform when we next inspect.

Serenity UK Care Ltd is a ‘care home’. People in care homes receive accommodation and nursing or personal care as single package under one contractual agreement. CQC regulates both the premises and the care provided, and both were looked at during this inspection. Serenity UK Care Ltd does not provide nursing care. At the time of our inspection the service provided care and support for three people.

A registered manager was in post at the time of our inspection. 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.

Information was available to people to explain what they should do if they felt unhappy or did not feel safe. The staff members we spoke with demonstrated a good knowledge on how to recognise abuse and how to report any concerns.

Staff protected people from risk while minimising restrictions on people’s choice and control. Staff told us about the risk people faced both in the service and in the community and how they could help to reduce risk but still encourage people’s independence.

People were cared for by staff who received appropriate training and support to do their job well. Staff felt supported by managers. There were adequate numbers of staff to support people and staffing numbers were flexible depending on people’s needs and activities. The service followed safe recruitment practice.

There were appropriate arrangements in place for the storage, administering, recording and disposal of medicines. Staff administered medicines safely.

All areas of the home were clean and well maintained. Cleaning schedules were in place and staff had access to personal protective equipment when required. We have made a recommendation about the management of dirty and clean washing in a social care setting.

People were supported to keep healthy and well. They were supported to attend appointments with GP’s and other healthcare professionals when they needed to. People were encouraged to make health choices about their food and were supported to have sufficient amounts to eat and drink.

People were offered choices, supported to feel involved and to have maximum choice and control of their lives while staff supported them in the least restrictive way possible. Staff were aware of their responsibilities in relation to the Mental Capacity Act 2005 (MCA). The policies and systems in the service supported this practice. Staff knew how to communicate effectively with each individual according to their needs.

People were relaxed and comfortable in the company of staff. Staff supported people in a way which was kind, caring, and respectful and encouraged people to follow their own hobbies, activities and interests.

Care records focused on people as individuals and gave clear information to people and staff. People were encouraged to make decisions about their care and support needs. These were reviewed with them regularly by staff.

The provider had a number of audits and quality assurance systems to help them understand the quality of the care and support people received and look at ways to continually improve the service.