Archived: Dalwood FarmHouse

Updated 28 April 2017

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 inspection took place on15 March 2017 and was unannounced. We returned on 16 March 2017 to meet with the deputy manager and complete the inspection.

The inspection was completed by one inspector. Before the inspection, we reviewed all of the information we hold about the service, including previous inspection reports and notifications sent to us by the provider. Notifications are information about specific important events the service is legally required to send to us.

During the visit we spoke with two of the three people who use the service, the deputy manager, four support workers and a director of the provider company. We spent time observing the way staff interacted with people who use the service and looked at the records relating to support and decision making for all three people. We also looked at records about the management of the service.

Updated 28 April 2017

Dalwood Farmhouse is a care home which provides accommodation and personal care for up to three people with learning disabilities. At the time of our inspection three people were living at the home. This inspection took place on 15 March 2017 and was unannounced. We returned the following day to meet with the deputy manager and complete the inspection.

There was a registered manager in post at the service. 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 and associated Regulations about how the service is run. The registered manager was on leave at the time of the inspection and the service was being run by the deputy manager.

Following the last inspection in September 2015, the registered manager had not taken action to improve the way risks were managed. Plans to assess and manage the risks people faced did not always contain up to date information or provide guidance to staff on the support that people needed. The plans did not include information on how to safely evacuate people from the building in the event of a fire or other emergency.

The service did not always act in line with the principles of the Mental Capacity Act 2005 (MCA). The MCA provides a legal framework for making particular decisions on behalf of people who may lack the mental capacity to do so for themselves.

The registered manager did not have effective systems to assess, monitor and improve the service being provided. The action plan submitted following the last inspection had not been followed and the improvements the registered manager had said they would make had not been completed.

Medicines were safely managed and people who use the service were positive about the care they received. Comments from people included, “I am generally happy here, I have everything I need” and “I am happy living here”.

There were systems in place to protect people from abuse and harm and staff knew how to use them. Staff understood the needs of the people they were supporting.

Staff received training suitable to their role and an induction when they started working for the service. They demonstrated a good understanding of their roles and responsibilities, as well as the values and philosophy of the service.

We found breaches of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014. You can see what action we told the provider to take at the back of the full version of this report.