Archived: Phoenix House Care Home

Updated 25 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 checked 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.

The inspection took place on 13 and 14 March 2017 and was unannounced.

The inspection team consisted of an adult social care inspector 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.

Before our inspection we reviewed the information we held about the home. This included the Provider Information Return (PIR). A PIR is a form that asks the provider to give some key information about the service, what the service does well and improvements they plan to make. We also looked at the notifications and other intelligence the Care Quality Commission had received about the home. We contacted the commissioning and contracts team at the local authority to see if they had any updates about the home.

During the inspection we spoke with six people who were living at the home and three relatives/visitors. We spoke with a total of six staff, including the provider, the registered manager, care manager and care staff.

We looked at the care records for four people living at the home, six staff personnel files, staff training records, staff duty rosters and records relevant to the quality monitoring of the service. We looked round the home, including people’s bedrooms, the kitchen, bathrooms, dining area and lounges. We observed people and staff during lunch and for a period of time in the morning, when activities were being carried out.

Updated 25 April 2017

This inspection took place on 13 and 14 March 2017 and unannounced.

Phoenix House is located in a residential area of Formby. The home provides accommodation and support for up to 30 people. There is disabled access and car parking. Communal areas include lounges, dining room and enclosed back garden.

There was a registered manager in post. 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.

Medicines were managed safely in the home.

Risk assessments had been undertaken to support people safely and in accordance with their individual needs.

The staff we spoke with described how they would recognise abuse and the action they would take to ensure actual or potential harm was reported.

Safety checks of the environment and equipment were completed regularly.

Some adaptations were in place to promote a dementia friendly environment. This was to ensure

the comfort and wellbeing of people who lived at the home.

There were enough staff on duty to provide care and support to people living in the home.

The provider had robust recruitment procedures in place to ensure staff were suitable to work with vulnerable adults.

Staff worked in partnership with health and social care professionals to make sure people received the care and support they needed.

Staff were trained to ensure that they had the appropriate skills and knowledge to meet people’s needs. They were well supported by the registered manager.

Staff sought the consent of people before providing care and support. The home followed the principles of the Mental Capacity Act (2005) for people who lacked mental capacity to make their own decisions.

People told us they liked the food and were able to choose what they wanted to eat.

People told us the staff had a good understanding of their care needs and people’s individual needs and preferences were respected by staff.

People at the home told us they were listened to and their views were taken into account when deciding how to spend their day.

Care plans provided information to inform staff about people's support needs, routines and preferences.

People told us staff were kind, polite and maintained their privacy and dignity. We observed positive interaction between the staff and people they supported.

A programme of activities was available for people living at the home to participate in.

A process for managing complaints was in place. People we spoke with knew how to raise a concern or make a complaint.

People living in the home and relatives told us they were able to share their views and were able to provide feedback about the service.

Feedback we received from people, relatives and staff was complimentary regarding the managers’ leadership and management of the home. Relatives spoke positively about the recent changes that had been made.

Systems and processes were in place to assess, monitor and improve the safety and quality of the service.