Aigburth

Updated 25 July 2019

The inspection

We carried out this inspection under Section 60 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (the Act) as part of our regulatory functions. We checked whether the provider was meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Act. We looked at the overall quality of the service and provided a rating for the service under the Care Act 2014.

Inspection team

The inspection team consisted of two inspectors and an assistant inspector.

Service and service type

Aigburth is a ‘care home’. People in care homes receive accommodation and nursing or personal care as a single package under one contractual agreement. The Care Quality Commission (CQC) regulates both the premises and the care provided, and both were looked at during this inspection.

The service did not have a manager registered with CQC. The previous registered manager de-registered on 26 March 2019. A new manager had been appointed, and had been in post for two weeks. They confirmed they had started the registered manager process and had submitted the application to CQC. This means that once registered they and the provider are legally responsible for how the service is run and for the quality and safety of the care provided.

This inspection was unannounced.

What we did before the inspection

We sought feedback from commissioners, other professionals who work with the service and Healthwatch. Healthwatch is an independent consumer champion that gathers and represents the views of the public about health and social care services in England. We reviewed information received about the service since the last inspection and used information the provider sent us in a provider information return. This is information providers are required to send us with key information about their service, what they do well, and improvements they plan to make. This information helps support our inspections. We used all this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection

We spoke with eight people using the service and three relatives about their experience of the care provided. We spoke with 10 members of staff including the manager, deputy manager, senior carers and care staff, the activity person and two volunteers. We used the Short Observational Framework for Inspection (SOFI). SOFI is a way of observing care to help us understand the experience of people who could not talk with us.

We reviewed a range of records. This included six people’s care records and medicines records. We looked at three staff files in relation to staff recruitment and supervision. We also reviewed a variety of records relating to the management of the service, staff training, quality audits, complaints and compliments.

After the inspection

We spoke with one relative and received written feedback from two relatives who regularly visit the service.

Updated 25 July 2019

About the service

Aigburth is a residential care home providing personal care for older people. The care home is purpose built and accommodates 56 people across three floors, each of which has separate adapted facilities. One of the floors specialises in providing care to people living with dementia.

At the time of the inspection 55 people were using the service.

People’s experience of using this service and what we found

People were safe, they were supported by staff that had a good knowledge of the risks associated with providing care, including the risks of infection control.

Safe recruitment practices were followed, and staff received induction and on-going training to ensure people’s individual care needs were continuously met.

People received care from staff that were kind, caring and compassionate. People and relatives were very complimentary about the care they received from the staff. People had built strong relationships with the staff and volunteers that worked at the service. People’s diversity was respected and embraced. Staff were respectful and open to all cultures, faiths and beliefs and people’s individuality, privacy and dignity was respected.

The service provided person centred care. Staff took time to find out about people’s individual hobbies and interests, and a wide variety of group and one to one activity’s were available for people to choose from.

People’s end of life preferences and wishes had been considered. People knew how to raise a concern or make a complaint and felt confident they would be dealt with appropriately.

People were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff supported them in the least restrictive ways possible; the policies and systems in the service supported this practice. People were supported to receive a nutritious and varied diet and to attend healthcare appointments as required.

Feedback was sought from people and relatives about their experience of using the service to ensure any issues were promptly addressed. At the time of the inspection the new manager had been in post for two weeks, and already had a good oversight of the service.

The management team were dedicated to providing person centred care. Established quality assurance systems and processes enabled the manager, supported by the area manager to quickly identify any areas for further improvement.

For more details, please see the full report which is on the CQC website at www.cqc.org.uk

Rating at last inspection

The last rating for this service was Good. (Published 24 November 2016).

Why we inspected

This was a planned inspection based on the previous rating.

Follow up

We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service until we return to visit as per our re-inspection programme. If we receive any concerning information we may inspect sooner.