Archived: The MaltHouse

The Malthouse provided residential care for up to 33 older people. There were 29 people living in the home at the time of our visit, some of whom were living with dementia.

There was a registered manager who had been in post for four years. 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.

There were sufficient trained and competent staff to meet people’s needs. The home was fully staffed and there was a waiting list of potential staff who had expressed an interest in working in there. Staff were keen and motivated and told us they enjoyed their job.

People felt well cared for and the staff worked well as a team. Staff told us they were able to take time with people and they were taught they were a 24 hour service and there was no need to rush. People told us they were happy with the care they received and they were positive about staff. We saw staff being kind and respectful to people. People and their families told us they felt involved in decisions about their care. People had their privacy and dignity respected.

There were activity organisers seven days a week who were supported by volunteer staff. There was a varied programme of activities which included trips out, social events, crafts and quizzes as well as exercise.

People told us they were safe living in the home and had confidence in the staff. They told us they were enjoyed the food and were offered a choice at mealtimes, relatives were encouraged to join them.

Peoples had personalised care plans which were informative and indicated peoples likes, dislikes and preferences. People were provided with choices about all aspects of care and support they received. Staff were able to talk with us about people and demonstrated to us they knew people as individuals.

There was a clear management structure. The registered manager was supported by a deputy manager who staff told us were supportive and approachable. There were systems in place for monitoring the quality of the service

Staff told us they had access to further training .The home was accredited with the Gold Standard Framework training which a nationally recognised training to ensure people received excellent end of life care. The home had good links with the GP surgery and staff attended their monthly meetings.

There were systems and processes in place to ensure there was good communication with people, their families and staff.

Recruitment checks had been made appropriately and staff had received the training required to do their jobs. We found staff to be polite and positive. One member of staff who had been at the home for many years told us "I enjoy every single day I come to work". Another told us "we get good support from the management team".

We found the home to be welcoming, clean and tidy. We saw that there were effective policies and procedures in place to prevent and control infections. People we spoke with were happy with the standard of cleanliness but said that it remained 'homely'.

Effective policies and procedures were in place to enable people to make comments and complaints. There were meetings held for people to make suggestions and information given to ensure people could make formal complaints. People told us that they felt safe to do so and that they had no concerns at this time.

People who lived in the home were asked to consent to care and treatment and there was evidence that they were involved in, and consented to, their care planning. Care plans detailed the needs of people and how these should be met.

We observed staff interacting with people in a friendly manner and staff were respectful at all times.

People told us that they would like to be involved in activities. The activities organiser had been unable to work for some time but the home had employed a new activities organiser who had been appointed the day before our inspection. The activities organiser told us they were planning to speak with people to find out what they would like to do and then plan activities around what people wanted to do.

The home conducted audits and actions were taken to address any concerns identified.

The home conducted questionnaires for people, visitors and professionals however the responses were not analysed and the home did not make action plans to resolve any concerns raised.