Background to this inspection
Updated
13 December 2016
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.
The inspection visit took place on 26 October 2016 and was conducted by one inspector.
Before the inspection, we asked the provider to complete a Provider Information Return (PIR). This 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. This was returned to us within the timescale requested. As part of the inspection process we also looked at information we already had about the provider. Providers are required to notify the Care Quality Commission about specific events and incidents that occur including serious injuries to people receiving care and any incidences which put people at risk of harm. We refer to these as notifications. We reviewed the notifications that the provider had sent us and any other information we had about the service to plan the areas we wanted to focus our inspection on. We reviewed regular quality reports sent to us by the local authority to see what information they held about the service. These are reports that tell us if the local authority has concerns about the service they purchase on behalf of people.
We spoke with four people who lived in the home, three support workers, the care home manager and the provider. We looked at records in relation to two care plans and four medication records to see how people’s support and treatment was planned and delivered. We looked at the medicine management processes and records maintained by the service about recruitment, staffing levels and training. We also looked at records relating to the management of the service and a selection of the provider’s policies and procedures, to check people received a good quality service.
Updated
13 December 2016
This unannounced inspection took place on 26 October 2016. At our last inspection on 2 February 2015, we found the provider’s environmental risk assessments for the premises and the protocols for administering medicine on an ‘as required’ basis required improvement. At this inspection we found there had been an improvement.
The provider is registered to accommodate and deliver personal care to a maximum of nine people who have a mental health condition or associated need. On the day of our inspection seven people lived at the home.
The provider was also the registered manager and was present during our visit. 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.
People told us that they were safe living at the home. Staff understood their responsibilities to protect people from the risk of harm. Risks to people had been assessed and managed appropriately to ensure care and support was provided safely. Staff had been recruited appropriately and pre-employment checks had been completed. People received their medicines as prescribed.
Staff told us that they were given the opportunity to develop their knowledge and skills in order to carry out their roles effectively. Staff received a planned induction before they started to work unsupervised and felt supported when they started to work at the home. People were supported by staff that understood the principles of The Mental Capacity Act 2005 and the associated Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards. The provider knew what appropriate action should be taken to protect people’s legal rights. People told us that they had enough to eat and drink and were complimentary about the choice and quality of food available to them. People told us that they were involved in accessing health care professionals to maintain their health and general well-being.
People were supported by kind and caring staff and were involved in making decisions in all aspects of their lives. People told us that staff treated them with dignity and respect. Staff described examples of how they promoted independence and maintained confidentiality when supporting people.
People's care and support was planned around their individual preferences. People were supported by staff who knew them well and supported them to make decisions about their care and support. People, where they chose to, were supported to participate in activities that interested them. A complaints procedure was in place and people felt confident to raise any concerns.
People and staff were happy with how the service was managed. People were given opportunities to express their opinions on the service that was provided. Staff felt valued and well-supported by the provider and care home manager. There were effective systems in place to monitor the quality of the care and support provided to people.