Background to this inspection
Updated
4 January 2019
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 18 December 2018 and was announced. We gave short notice, the day before our inspection visit, to ensure staff and people would be available to speak with us. One inspector and an expert by experience by undertook this inspection. An expert by experience is a person who has personal experience of using or caring for someone who uses this type of service. The expert by experience on this inspection had experience of learning disabilities services.
Prior to our inspection visit, we reviewed the information we held about the service. We reviewed statutory notifications sent to us from the provider. A statutory notification is information about important events which the provider is required to send us by law. The local authority told us they had no current concerns about the service.
We spent time with people and observing communal areas where people interacted with staff. This helped us judge whether people’s needs were appropriately met and to identify if people experienced good standards of care.
During the inspection we spoke with the four people that lived at 19 Pooley View. We had telephone conversations with two people’s relatives and one staff member. We spoke with the staff member on shift, the registered manager and the provider’s chief executive officer.
We reviewed two people’s care plans, daily records and medicine administration records. We also looked at the management records of the quality assurance audits the registered manager, chief executive officer and provider; Board of Trustees, made to assure themselves people received a safe, effective quality service.
Updated
4 January 2019
We inspected this service on 19 December 2018. The inspection was announced and carried out by one inspector and an expert by experience.
The service is a ‘care home’ operated by Polesworth Group Homes; a non-profit and independent provider of support for people with learning disabilities. The service, 19 Pooley View, is one of eight services provided by Polesworth Group Homes Limited. The service provides accommodation with personal care for up to four adults living with a learning disability. People in residential care homes receive accommodation and personal care as a single package under one contractual agreement. CQC regulates both the premises and the care provided, and both were looked at during this inspection. At the time of our inspection visit, there were four people living at the home.
There was a registered manager in post. They had been registered with us for this service and one other of the provider’s services. 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.
At our last inspection in April 2016 we rated the service as Good. At this inspection, we found the quality of the care had been maintained and people continued to receive a service that was safe, caring, effective and responsive to their needs. The rating continues to be Good.
At times, staff were ‘lone workers’ at the service which meant there was just one staff member on shift. The provider’s other services were within close proximity to the service and staff felt they could call upon them, or on-call managers, for support if needed. Everyone spoken with said the one staff member was sufficient to safely and effectively meet people’s individual needs.
Staff understood their responsibilities to protect people from the risks of abuse. Staff had received ‘safeguarding’ training and raised concerns under the provider’s safeguarding policies. The registered manager and provider understood and followed their legal responsibilities when safeguarding concerns were identified to them by staff.
People had their medicines available to them and were supported with these from trained staff. Staff had a very good knowledge of how to support people with healthcare conditions and ‘when required’ medicines should be given and followed individual protocols.
Staff had the appropriate levels of skill, experience and support to meet people’s needs and provide effective care. Staff knew people well and individual risk management plans were in place for staff to follow. Staff supported people with kindness and in a caring way. Staff knew what action to take in the event of an emergency and could seek support from another of the provider’s services close-by, if needed.
The provider checked staff’s suitability to deliver care and support during the recruitment process.
People’s nutritional and hydration needs were met and staff encouraged people to make healthy choices to maintain their wellbeing. Staff supported people to access healthcare services.
Staff had received training in the Mental Capacity Act 2005 and worked within the principles of the Act. Managers understood their responsibilities under the Act and when ‘best interests’ meetings should take place.
People had individual plans of care which provided staff with the information they needed. People were able to take part in individual leisure activities according to their preferences.
Staff were happy in their job role and felt supported by the registered manager through one to one and team meetings.
People and relatives had no complaints about the service and said staff would deal with any concern if they needed to raise something.
The registered manager and provider checked the quality of the service to make sure people’s needs were met effectively. Feedback on a day to day basis from people was encouraged by staff. The registered manager and provider understood their regulatory responsibilities and worked with other organisations and healthcare professionals to ensure positive outcomes for people who lived at the home.