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Archived: MHA Care at Home - St Helens Branch

Overall: Good read more about inspection ratings

Heald Farm Court, Sturgess Street, Newton Le Willows, WA12 9HP (01925) 598020

Provided and run by:
Methodist Homes

All Inspections

21 June 2016

During a routine inspection

The inspection took place on the 21 and 23 June 2016 and was announced. The service was last inspected in March 2014, and was found to be meeting those standards we looked at.

The service provides domiciliary care support and support to people within an extra care setting. This is where support is delivered to people within their own flat. The service operates across three different sites within St Helens. At the time of the inspection there were 56 people receiving care and support from the service.

There service had a manager who had been registered with the CQC since March 2014. 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.

There were sufficient numbers of staff available to meet people’s needs. People told us that there were sufficient staff to respond to emergencies and that staff had time to talk with them. Staffing rotas confirmed that staffing levels were consistent.

People were protected from the risk of abuse. Staff had undertaken training in safeguarding vulnerable people and knew how to report any concerns they may have, inside and outside the organisation.

People were supported to take their medicines as prescribed. Staff had received training in the safe management of medicines and received routine checks to ensure they were competent to do so. Medicines audits were carried out by the registered manager, and any issues identified were followed up and remedial action taken.

Staff had received training that ensured they had the appropriate skills and knowledge to carry out their roles effectively. The registered manager kept a record of staff training to ensure their skills and knowledge were up-to-date.

Care records contained information around people’s dietary requirements. This ensured that staff were aware of any support people may need during meal times. We observed examples where staff offered appropriate support to those people who needed it whilst they were eating their meals.

Staff were kind and respectful towards people. People told us that they had developed a good relationship with staff, and spoke very highly of them, commenting that they were “friendly”, and made them feel at ease. This helped ensure the development of positive relationships.

People’s confidentiality was respected. Care records that contained personal information were stored in a secure cabinet within a locked office.

People received personalised care and support. Care records contained details around people’s likes, dislikes and life history. There was also detailed information around their care and support needs, and how staff should respond to meet these needs. This ensured that staff had access to relevant information to allow them to provide the correct level of support.

The registered provider had a complaints policy in place which people were familiar with. People told us they knew how to make a complaint, and who to raise any concerns with. They also told us they felt confident their concerns would be listened to. The complaints procedure was available in the different schemes, and people received a copy of this information when they first started using the service.

People spoke positively about the service and the registered manager. Staff told us that they felt well supported and were aware of the management structure within the different schemes. Staff were encouraged to make suggestions around ways of improving the service, and there was an incentive scheme in place around this.

The registered provider and the registered manager both completed quality monitoring checks of the service on a routine basis. These focussed on areas such as care plans, medication and staff knowledge of key areas such as safeguarding. At the last quality monitoring check completed by the registered provider the service scored 90% which resulted in staff receiving a bonus.

18 February 2014

During a routine inspection

We spoke with seven people who used the service, who were very happy with the care and support provided by MHA Care at Home, at Heald Farm Court. One person told us 'They're very good, everyone does a good job and I feel very safe living here,' while another commented, 'I feel like a millionaire, when I need help it's there.' We found people were treated respectfully and given support to have their say in how they wanted to be helped and were supported to do the things they wanted to do.

The people who accessed the service provided by MHA Care at Home were cared for and supported by staff that were appropriated recruited, well trained and experienced at supporting them. The provider managed medicines safely and there was an effective system in place to deal with any complaints.

22 October 2012

During a routine inspection

We visited Heald Farm Court to look at records, talk to the registered manager and observe and assess the quality of care and support being delivered by the agency.

Heald Farm Court is part of the MHA / Methodist Homes.

On the day of our inspection the agency was providing care and support to 84 service users living in their own apartments.

We were informed by the registered manager that 70 staff members were employed including 50 care staff.

We looked at the care files of five people living at Heald Farm Court and throughout the day we spoke with twelve of the people living there. We visited two of the service users in their own apartment.

We spoke with five people employed by the care agency including the chaplain who is employed by MHA. We checked the staff files of seven people.

The people we spoke with said support workers had always treated them with dignity and respect. Some comments from service users were, 'It's just like a hotel living here,' 'I absolutely love living here. I want for nothing,' "I have lived here for three years. It's lovely. The staff are great' and 'Quite happy with everything that goes on'.