We carried out a review of the data available to us about Albert Road on 6 July 2023. We have not found evidence that we need to carry out an inspection or reassess our rating at this stage.
This could change at any time if we receive new information. We will continue to monitor data about this service.
If you have concerns about Albert Road, you can give feedback on this service.
Albert Road is a residential care home providing personal care and support to up to 7 people. The service provides support to those with an acquired brain injury. At the time of our inspection there were 4 people using the service.
The home is a large, converted semi-detached house with four floors. Bedrooms and dining areas are situated to the first and second floor.
People’s experience of using this service and what we found
People were kept safe and felt supported. People we spoke with were positive about living at Albert Road and from our observation’s interactions between people and staff were respectful and polite. We received positive feedback from families of those who use the service .
Staff told us they felt supported working at Albert Road. Recruitment checks were completed in line with requirements. Staffing levels were sufficient to meet the needs of the service and allowed the service to provide flexible support.
Improvements made at the last inspection had been maintained. Medicine management practices were safe. Care plans were detailed, providing clarity on individuals needs, likes and dislikes. Training was comprehensive and the provider was looking at additional enhanced training to ensure staff could support individuals in a person-centred way.
Managers and the provider had greater oversight of the service. The culture within the home had improved; this was confirmed by staff spoken with. Managers were approachable to both staff and those who used the service. Managers were receptive of feedback and actioned feedback in a timely manner.
People were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff support them in the least restrictive way possible and in their best interests; the policies and systems in the service supported this practice. The service enabled individuals to engage in positive risk taking.
For more details, please see the full report which is on the CQC website at www.cqc.org.uk
Why we inspected
This inspection was prompted by a review of the information we held about this service.
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.
Follow up
We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service, which will help inform when we next inspect.
Albert Road is a residential care home providing personal care and support for up to seven people with an acquired brain injury. At the time of our inspection five people lived at the service.
The home is a large, converted semi-detached house with four floors. Bedrooms and dining areas are situated to the first and second floor.
People’s experience of using this service and what we found
People felt safe while living at Albert Road and we received positive feedback from the people and their relatives about the care provided.
Significant improvements had been made following the previous inspection in October 2019. Safe medicines practices had been introduced to help ensure people received their medicines safely. Risk assessments and care plans contained sufficient detail and guidance for staff to respond to risk effectively. The provider had made improvements to staff training and competency checks to ensure staff had the skills, knowledge and competence to care for people safely. The provider was aware some courses were still due to be completed by a small number of staff.
People and staff praised the changes in the service since our last inspection. However, a small group of staff felt the communication from the management team needed to be improved. People and staff were regularly asked for their views on how the service operated. Improvements to the governance systems ensured a better oversight of performance and quality.
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 inadequate (published 8 January 2020). 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.
This service has been in Special Measures since 18 November 2019. During this inspection the provider demonstrated that improvements have been made. The service is no longer rated as inadequate overall or in any of the key questions. Therefore, this service is no longer in Special Measures.
Why we inspected
We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection of this service in October 2019. Breaches of legal requirements were found and we served two warning notices for Regulations 12 and 17. The provider completed an action plan for Regulation 11 after the last inspection to show what they would do and by when to improve care quality relating to Safe Care and Treatment, Need for Consent, and Good Governance.
We undertook this focused inspection to check they 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 ‘Is the service Safe?’ ‘Is the service Effective?’ and ‘Is the Service Well-led?’ which contain those requirements.
The ratings from the previous comprehensive inspection for those key questions not looked at on this occasion were used in calculating the overall rating at this inspection. The overall rating for the service has changed from inadequate to requires improvement. 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 Albert Road on our website at www.cqc.org.uk.
Follow up
We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service until we return to visit as per our re-inspection programme. If we receive any concerning information we may inspect sooner.
Albert Road is a care home providing accommodation and personal care for up to 7 adults with an acquired brain injury. At the time of this inspection there were 4 adults living at Albert Road.
The home is a large, converted semi-detached house with four floors. Bedrooms and dining areas are situated to the first and second floor. There is some communal living space to the ground floor, although this is limited. The basement has been converted to accommodate a games room and a small, independent living unit for one person. This was out of use as repairs were needed. There is a car park to the rear of the home, although not used for this purpose, and a large, wooden gazebo.
People’s experience of using this service and what we found
There were significant and widespread shortfalls in the governance of the service. The provider and managers had failed to identify issues we found with medicines, person centred care and record keeping.
Systems were ineffective in driving improvements and high quality care. The provider had failed to act on concerns and errors with the management of medicines identified by their own staff. This left people at risk of harm.
People were at risk of avoidable harm because risks were not recorded accurately, monitored or managed.
Health and safety of the premises was not well managed. No control measures had been actioned to reduce the risk of legionella in water systems. People were at risk of potential harm.
Staff had not received adequate training or support to equip them for their roles and responsibilities. Staff had not always completed aspects of training relevant to people’s needs.
Good outcomes were not always achieved for people living at the service. The environment did not always meet people’s needs, as there was limited communal areas. The outside space was a disused car park and a gazebo with steps, therefore not accessible to all.
People were not supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff did not support them in the least restrictive way possible and in their best interests; the policies and systems in the service did not support this practice.
People's had some independence but not all staff were confident in engaging and involving people in tasks such as household chores or cleaning their own personal rooms.
People had access to the wider community with support from staff however, more meaningful activities had not been discussed or fully explored. There had been improvements in the variety and frequency of activities since the arrival of the new manager.
For more details, please see the full report which is on the CQC website at www.cqc.org.uk
Rating at last inspection
A focused inspection of the service at Albert Road was carried out in June 2018. This was in response to concerns raised with the Care Quality Commission shortly after the service opened. We looked at the key areas of safe, caring and well led and all were rated requires improvement.
The provider of this service changed on 17/10/2018. This was an internal move following a restructure within the parent company.
Why we inspected
This was a planned inspection based on the new provider’s registration date.
Enforcement
We identified three breaches during the inspection. These related to safe care and treatment, need for consent and good governance. 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 meet with the provider following this report being published to discuss how they will make changes to ensure they improve their rating to at least good. We will work alongside the provider and local authority to monitor progress. We will return to visit as per our re-inspection programme. If we receive any concerning information we may inspect sooner.
The overall rating for this service is 'Inadequate' and the service is therefore in 'special measures'. This means we will keep the service under review and, if we do not propose to cancel the provider's registration, we will re-inspect within six months to check for significant improvements. If the provider has not made enough improvement within this timeframe. And there is still a rating of inadequate for any key question or overall rating, we will take action in line with our enforcement procedures. This will mean we will begin the process of preventing the provider from operating this service. This will usually lead to cancellation of their registration or to varying the conditions the registration.
For adult social care services, the maximum time for being in special measures will usually be no more than12 months. If the service has demonstrated improvements when we inspect it and it is no longer rated as inadequate for any of the five key questions it will no longer be in special measures.