Archived: Clifton House RCH Limited

People told us that generally they were happy living and working at the home and had no complaints.

Comments received were; 'They look after us very well; the carers are friendly and helpful. I only have to ask and they get what I want;' 'The food is very good, varied and plenty of it, get four good meals a day and can have something different if I want to but I don't usually want anything different.' 'Staff always call for the GP if I am not well.' 'I am usually in bed by 10pm but can get up and go to bed anytime I want to.' 'I have no complaints, all very satisfactory.'

The visitor we spoke with said that they found everything to be ok and the person they were visiting 'Seems to be very happy here.' The GP who was visiting for the first time said that the staff had been welcoming and friendly.

There are usually two care workers on duty from 8am to 10pm and from 10pm one member of staff who is awake and one member of staff who is asleep on the premises but available if they should be needed. During the day one of the care workers cooks the main meal which is at lunch time and another care worker who works the evening shift cooks the tea time meal.

We saw during our visit that the care workers treated the people who lived at the home with dignity and respect.

The activities organiser had retired and had not been replaced. The provider told us that the care workers were to take on these duties however this was not always possible as there were only two care workers on duty at any one time. Therefore activities were not always consistent. During our visit a member of staff brought in a DVD for the people to watch in the afternoon. We were told by one person that 'I mostly watch TV, we don't have organised activities we usually sit in the lounge or in my own room.' Another person told us that an entertainer had been organised for Christmas".

The provider told us that other sources from outside visited such as, communion took place monthly, a hairdresser visited weekly and a podiatrist visited monthly.

There had been no safeguarding investigations or referrals made either to the Care Quality Commission or the Stockport Social Services.

The provider was not present during the inspection visit however we spoke with the provider by telephone a few days later and gave feed back on our main concerns such as medication, assessments, care plans and training.

We have found Clifton House to be compliant in two of the eight essential standards we inspected. In the remaining five essential standards we have four minor and one moderate concern. On completion of the report will will ask the provider to produce an action plan on how they are going to address the non-compliance. The main area of concern was regarding the administration, recording and storage of medication. Other concerns were that, not everyone had a care needs assessment before the person was offered a place or admitted to the home. Not everyone had a plan of care which provided the care workers with information about the person's needs and how these needs should be met.There was no information in the care file that gave the care workers knowledge about specific conditions such as diabetes or a specific mental health diagnosis.

The home was free from unpleasant odours and was clean and tidy but was in need of some refurbishment. There were also some concerns about the health and safety of the people who lived there such as; no call bells in the toilets upstairs, hot radiators not covered and no wheelchair access.

Whilst some staff had completed training which included National Vocational Qualifications (NVQ) we were concerned that refresher training did not take place. Although this is not always compulsory it is considered to be best practice.

As part of our inspection we also contacted other professionals by telephone such as the Contracts and Compliance department of Stockport Social Services, the Care Quality Commissions pharmacy inspector, the Stockport NHS pharmacist, the Staff Development department of Stockport Social Services, the Diabetic Nurse and a Social Worker.