Callum House

Updated 12 December 2018

We carried out this inspection under Section 60 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 as part of our regulatory functions. This inspection was planned to check whether the provider is meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Health and Social Care Act 2008, to look at the overall quality of the service, and to provide a rating for the service under the Care Act 2014.

This comprehensive inspection took place on 31 October and 1 November 2018. The inspection was unannounced and carried out by one inspector.

Before our inspection we reviewed information we held about the service. This included notifications the provider is required by law to send us about events that happen within the service. The registered manager had not sent us a recent Provider Information Return (PIR) because of technical difficulties but had notified the CQC of the delay. Soon after the inspection the PIR was sent to us. The PIR is information we require providers to send us at least once annually to give some key information about the service, what the service does well and improvements they plan to make. We took this into account when we inspected the service and made the judgements in this report. We also received feedback about the service from a healthcare professional.

We spoke with four people using the service, two members of staff and the registered manager. We observed the interactions between staff and people. We reviewed care records for five people who used the service. We looked around the premises and checked records for the management of the service including staffing rotas, quality assurance arrangements, meeting minutes and health and safety records. We checked recruitment records for three members of staff. We also reviewed how medicines were managed and the records relating to this.

After the inspection the registered manager sent up some additional information regarding staff, training, medicines and service user meetings. We also spoke to three family members of people using the service to help understand people’s experience.

Updated 12 December 2018

Callum House is a residential care service that offers housing and personal support for up to eight people with learning disabilities . Callum House is a detached house on two floors, with bedrooms on the ground, first and second floors. The two ground floor bedrooms have en-suites and the remaining six bedrooms have access to two communal bathrooms and a shower room. At the time of our inspection the shower was not in use. The service has a large lounge and a kitchen / diner that allowed for everyone to sit and eat meals comfortably. At the time of our inspection six people were using the service.

At our last inspection we rated the service good. At this inspection we found the evidence continued to support the rating of good and there was no evidence or information from our inspection and ongoing monitoring that demonstrated serious risks or concerns. This inspection report is written in a shorter format because our overall rating of the service has not changed since our last inspection.

Systems were in place to safeguard people from abuse and staff knew the procedure and guidance to follow if something went wrong.

Risks relating to people’s care were identified and staff knew how to manage these risks to help keep people safe but still encourage people’s independence. Staff spoke to people about the risks they faced to help people understand how to keep safe.

Not all maintenance issues identified by staff had been addressed in a timely way by the provider. However, important safety issues were addressed during our inspection so we were assured people were safe. We will continue to monitor the maintenance of the service to make sure the regulations are being met.

People’s medicines were managed safely by staff. The storage of people’s medicine was improved during our inspection so it was easier for staff to see which medicine belonged to which person. The service had started to undertake regular temperature checks to make sure people's medicine was stored correctly.

We have made a recommendation about the management of medicine storage.

There was enough staff to make sure people were safe. More staff were being recruited at the time of our inspection to allow for more flexibility of the duty rota. Staff received adequate training, induction and supervision to support them to do their jobs. The recruitment process ensured staff were suitable to work with people.

People’s needs and preferences were assessed by the service before they began receiving care and reviewed regularly.

People were involved in their food and drink choices and meals were prepared taking account of people’s health, cultural and religious needs. Staff helped people to keep healthy and well, they supported people to attend appointments with GP’s and other healthcare professionals when they needed to. Specialist dietary needs such as those associated with the risk of choking were provided for.

People were offered choices, supported to feel involved and staff knew how to communicate effectively with everyone 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.

People were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff supported them in the least restrictive way possible. The policies and systems in the service supported this practice.

Care records focused on people as individuals and gave clear information to staff. People were appropriately supported by staff to make decisions about their care and support needs. Staff encouraged people to follow their own activities and interests. Relatives told us they felt comfortable raising any concerns they had with staff and knew how to make a complaint if needed.

The service had a range of audits in place to assess, monitor and drive improvement.

Further information is in the detailed findings below.