Archived: Aitken House

Updated 31 December 2015

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 on 17 and 19 November 2015 and was unannounced. The inspection team consisted of two inspectors and an inspector who specialised in medicine management.

Before the inspection we reviewed information that we held about the service. Providers are required to notify the Care Quality Commission about events and incidents that occur including unexpected deaths, injuries to people receiving care and safeguarding matters. We reviewed the notifications the provider had sent us and additional information we had requested from the local authority safeguarding and quality assurance teams.

During the inspection, we spoke with seven people living at Aitken house, four care staff, the cook, a domestic member of staff and the provider who was also the registered manager. We spent time observing the interactions between the care staff and the people living at Aitken house.

The records we looked at included six people’s care records, five people’s medicine records and other records relating to people’s care. We reviewed four staff recruitment files and staff training records. We also looked at maintenance records in respect of the premises and equipment and records relating to how the provider monitored the quality and safety of the service.

Updated 31 December 2015

This inspection was unannounced and took place on 17 and 19 November 2015.

Aitken House is a service that provides accommodation and care for up to 20 people who are living with a mental health condition. On the day of the inspection, there were a total of ten people living at the home, two of whom were in hospital.

There was a registered manager employed at the home. The registered manager was also the provider. 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.

People were happy living at Aitken House. They described it as their home where they felt safe, well cared for and comfortable. People were listened to by the staff and the provider and their opinion was valued.

The staff were trained to a good standard to provide care to people safely and were developing their knowledge in relation to mental health conditions. This would provide them with further skills when supporting people who were living with a mental health condition.

There were enough staff to provide support to the people who lived at Aitken House and people were able to make decisions and choices about their care and these were respected by the staff.

People were encouraged to be as independent as they wished to be and were supported to use the facilities within the community when they wanted to. They were supported by the staff to maintain good health.

People’s care needs and preferences had been assessed. However, some risks to people’s safety had not been managed well which meant they there was a risk they could experience harm. There was a risk that people would not receive their medicines when they needed them.

The home was well maintained and clean. Risks in relation to the premises were well managed. The staff were happy working for the provider and felt supported in their role.

There were a lack of systems in place to monitor the quality and safety of the service provided to the people who lived in the home. Some records about people’s care were inaccurate which placed them at risk of receiving incorrect care.

There were some breaches of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations (2014). You can see what action we have told the provider to take at the back of this report.