• Care Home
  • Care home

Archived: Eleanor House

Overall: Inadequate read more about inspection ratings

19 Eleanor Street, Grimsby, Lincolnshire, DN32 9DT (01472) 359330

Provided and run by:
Kalbro Investments Limited

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Background to this inspection

Updated 6 October 2015

We undertook an unannounced focused inspection of Eleanor House on 6 and 7 July 2015. This inspection was carried out to check whether improvements to meet legal requirements had been made after our comprehensive inspection on 8 and 9 January 2015.

The first day of the inspection was carried out by two adult social care inspectors, a specialist advisor with a background in mental health and an expert by experience. An expert by experience is a person who has personal experience of using or caring for someone who uses this type of care service. The second day of the inspection was undertaken by two adult social care inspectors.

Before our focused inspection we spoke with the local authority safeguarding and commissioning teams and reviewed information that was sent to us by them and the fire service, together with data we hold about the service.

We used the Short Observational Framework for Inspection [SOFI] in the communal areas of the service. SOFI is a way of observing care to help us understand the experiences of people who could not talk with us.

We talked with five of the people who used the service, a member of domestic staff, three members of care staff, a bank nurse who was on duty and the registered manager. We also spoke with three visiting relatives, a community based specialist professional who had regular contact with the home, a district nurse who was visiting and a GP.

We looked at six care files which belonged to people who used the service. We also looked at other important documentation relating to people’s assessments about their capacity to make informed decisions. We checked whether best interest meetings for people who lacked capacity were held to enable important decisions to be made on their behalf.

We looked at a selection of documentation relating to the management and running of the service. These included seven staff recruitment files, training records, the staff rota, minutes of meetings with staff and those with people who used the service, quality assurance audits and maintenance of equipment records. We completed a tour of the premises to check if the environment was clean and safe.

Overall inspection

Inadequate

Updated 6 October 2015

We inspected Eleanor House on 6 and 7 July 2015. This was an unannounced inspection which meant that the staff and provider did not know that we would be visiting.

Eleanor House is registered to provide accommodation and personal care with nursing for 17 adults who may be living with mental health or dementia related conditions. Accommodation is located on the ground and first floors, with both shared and single rooms. There is lift and stair access to the first floor. The service is situated close to local amenities.

The manager of the service became the registered manager on 13 May 2015. 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.

We carried out an unannounced comprehensive inspection of this service on 8 and 9 January 2015. During this inspection we found the registered provider was in breach of regulations 9, 10, 11, 15, 17, 18, 22 and 23 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 [Regulated Activities] Regulations 2010. These relate to Regulations 12, 17, 13, 15, 10, 11 and 18 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 [Regulated Activities] Regulations 2014. This meant that the registered provider was not meeting the regulations relating to safeguarding people who used the service from abuse; ensuring staff respected people who used the service and involved them in their development of their care and treatment; ensuring treatment or support was delivered in line with people’s needs; ensuring consent from people or appropriately appointed persons was obtained; ensuring sufficient numbers of qualified, experienced and skilled staff were in place; ensuring staff received adequate training and support and assessing and monitoring the quality of service provision.

We also found a breach of regulation 18 of the Care Quality Commission [Registration] Regulations 2009 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 [Regulated Activities] Regulations 2010. This meant the provider had failed to notify us of incidents occurring in the home.

We undertook a focused inspection on 6 and 7 July 2015 to check whether the service was now meeting legal requirements. This report only covers our findings in relation to those requirements. You can read the report from our last comprehensive inspection, by selecting the 'all reports' link for Eleanor House on our website at www.cqc.org.uk.

During this inspection we found that since the inspection in January 2015 the registered provider had implemented a range of audits and checks; however we found these were ineffective and failed to highlight shortfalls within the service.

We found that the registered provider had continued to fail to take appropriate action to recruit additional staff to ensure there were sufficient numbers deployed within the service.

We saw that the registered provider had taken action to ensure staff had received training about the Mental Capacity Act [MCA] 2005. However, we found that where people lacked capacity staff continued to fail to adhere to the MCA Code of Practice. Staff did not understand the principle that people needed to be able to make decisions including unwise choices. Staff did not explore the strengths people who used the service had and therefore were not supporting individuals to make decisions. Also staff failed to ensure, when appropriate, that ‘best interest’ decisions were made. Staff had not always had regard for the professional code of conduct in relation to the MCA when administering covert medicines.

We found that the registered provider had developed people’s care records but more work was required on these to ensure they provided staff with accurate information to enable to them keep people safe.

We found that the registered provider had taken action to ensure staff knew how to report safeguarding concerns. Staff had received training to ensure they knew how to manage the behaviours that may challenge the service. However, more progress and evidence of sustained improvements was required. We found that the registered provider remained non-compliant with this regulation.

We saw that the registered provider had taken some action to ensure people were provided with an environment that was safe. However, more work was required on the electrical wiring of the building to ensure the registered provider became compliant with this regulation.

During our focused inspection we saw that the registered provider had taken action to enable people’s involvement in decisions and promotion of their wellbeing. However, more progress and evidence of sustained improvements was required to ensure the registered provider became compliant with this regulation.

We found the registered provider had taken action to ensure staff had the right skills to carry out their roles. However, more progress and evidence of sustained improvements was required to ensure the registered provider became compliant with this regulation.

Since the inspection in January 2015 the registered provider had taken action to ensure notifications about significant incidents were reported correctly. However, more progress and evidence of sustained improvements was required to ensure the registered provider became compliant with this regulation.

We have judged these latest findings demonstrate the breaches of regulations continue to have a major impact on the people who used the service. This is being followed up and we will report on our action when it is complete. As a result of the continued non-compliance we are considering our regulatory response.

The registered provider has given us written assurance they will not admit any further people to the service until we are satisfied appropriate arrangements are in place to ensure people’s health, safety and welfare are protected and the registered provider is compliant with all of the relevant regulations.