8 & 9 July 2015
During a routine inspection
This was an unannounced inspection which took place over two days on 8 and 9 July 2015. This was the service’s first inspection since a change of registration in July 2013.
North Road Care Homes is a care home providing accommodation and personal care, including nursing care, to 54 older people, including people with a dementia diagnosis. There were 43 people living at the service at the time of the inspection.
There was a registered manager who had been in post two years. 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.
People told us they felt safe living at the service and that staff knew how to act to keep them safe from harm. The building and some of the fixtures and fittings were in need of repair or updating, and some communal areas had hazards that needed removing to prevent risks to the people living there.
There were enough staff to meet people’s often complex needs and the staff were trained, supervised and supported to meet their needs.
Medicines were managed well by the staff and people received the help they needed to take them safely. Where people’s needs changed the staff sought medical advice and encouraged people to maintain their well-being.
People were supported by staff who knew their needs well and how best to support them. They were aware of individual’s choices and how to support those people who no longer had the capacity to make decisions for themselves. Families felt the service was effective and offered them re-assurance that their relatives were being cared for.
People were supported to maintain a suitable food and fluid intake. Staff responded flexibly to ensure that people maintained their physical wellbeing and worked with people individually. Where decisions had to be made about people’s care, families and external professionals were involved and consulted as part of the process.
Staff were caring and valued the people they worked with. Staff showed kindness and empathy in dealing with people’s needs and families felt their relatives were cared for by a staff team who valued them and would keep them safe.
People’s privacy and dignity were carefully considered by the staff team, who ensured that their choices and previous wishes were respected.
People who were receiving end of life care had their needs appropriately assessed. Professional advice was sought where needed to promote advance care planning if required.
The service responded to people’s needs as they changed over time, sometimes responding to emergencies. The service supported people to access appropriate support so the staff could keep them safe and well.
The registered manager led by example, supporting staff to consider the best ways to meet people’s needs. The registered manager regularly consulted families and looked for ways to improve the service through audits and regular reviews of care delivery.
You can see what action we told the provider to take at the back of the full version of the report.