Archived: Community Options Limited - 33 Albemarle Road

Community Options - 33 Albemarle Road is a small residential care home that provides accommodation and personal care support for up to seven adults with mental health needs. At the time of our inspection the home was providing care and support to seven people.

There was a deputy manager in post at the time of our inspection and an acting manager had been appointed and was due to be in post the following week. The service had a registered manager in post, however they were absent from the service for an agreed significant amount of planned time. 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 administered and stored safely, however the management and recording of medicines was not always consistently safe. This required improvement. We made a recommendation that the provider follows best practice and guidance in relation to the safe management and administration of medicines. We will check on this at our next inspection of the service.

Risks to the health and safety of people using the service were assessed and reviewed in line with the provider's policy. There were arrangements in place to deal with foreseeable emergencies and there were safeguarding adult’s policies and procedures in place. Accidents and incidents were recorded and acted on appropriately. There were safe staff recruitment practices in place and appropriate numbers of staff to meet people’s needs.

There were processes in place to ensure staff new to the home were inducted into the service appropriately and staff received training, supervision and appraisals. There were systems in place which ensured the service complied with the Mental Capacity Act 2005 (MCA 2005). This provides protection for people who do not have capacity to make decisions for themselves. People’s nutritional needs and preferences were met and people had access to health and social care professionals when required.

People were treated with respect and were consulted about their care and support needs. Staff respected people’s dignity and privacy. People’s support needs and risks were identified, assessed and documented within their care plan. People were provided with information on how to make a complaint. There were systems and processes in place to monitor and evaluate the service provided. People were asked for their views about the service through residents meetings and satisfaction surveys.

We found that the provider had a policy in place to determine when consent was required and people's consent was taken before care and support was delivered. People's care and support needs were assessed and planned for and potential risks were identified to protect people. We found that the provider had suitable arrangements in place for obtaining, storing, and administering, recording and disposing people's medication. Support was in place for staff through an induction, training, supervision and appraisal, the staff we spoke with felt they were adequately supported. We found that people's care and support plans, staff records and other records relevant to the management of the services were accurate and fit for purpose.