Archived: Masson House

Updated 17 August 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.”

This inspection took place on the 15 March and 4 April 2016. It was unannounced and carried out by two inspectors on the 15 March and one inspector on the 4 April 2016. The service was previously inspected in August 2015.

The service provides nursing care to 18 people. Most of the people using the service had physical disabilities some had mental health needs. The inspection was carried out by two inspectors.

The service is required to have a registered manager. 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. At the time of this inspection there was a registered manager in the service.

Before the inspection we reviewed the information available to us about the home, such as the notifications that they had sent us. A notification is information about important events which the provider is required to send us by law.

During this inspection we spoke with four people and two relatives. We spoke with four staff members and the registered manager. We observed how care was delivered and reviewed the care records and risk assessments. We checked medicines administration records and reviewed how complaints were managed. We looked at three staff recruitment records and staff training records. We also reviewed information on how the quality of the service was monitored and managed.

Updated 17 August 2016

Masson House is registered to provide personal care for up to 18 older adults, which may include some people living with mental health issues. This inspection was unannounced and took place on 15 March and 4 April 2016. At the time of our inspection there were 16 people living there.

There was a registered manager at this service. 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. At our last inspection in January 2014 the provider was fully compliant in all areas inspected.

Records we looked at were very poorly maintained and updated. Care plans had not been updated they were not personalised and did not always included decisions people had made about their care including their likes, dislikes and personal preferences.

Staff were appropriately trained and confident to meet the basic needs of people they cared for. However staff did not have access to additional training specific to the needs of people using the service, such as palliative care, dementia awareness and falls management.

The service was not managed in an inclusive manner. The registered manager managed in a closed and exclusive manner that did not allow staff to make informed decisions on people’s health and welfare. Staff were not always fully aware of their roles and responsibilities for people’s care. The registered manager did not have effective systems in place to review the service and to ensure the service responded to the current needs of people.

During our inspection we observed staff delivering care which met people’s individual needs and which supported them in a respectful and appropriate way. There was not always adequate training and processes in place to keep people safe and staff generally followed these. People’s physical health was promoted although staff needed more specialist training to effectively support people with mental health care needs. Medicines were stored appropriately and they were administered and recorded as prescribed.

Visitors were welcomed to the service at all reasonable times. There was a complaints process in place and the service received may complements.

Most of the staff had some understanding and complied with the requirements of the Mental Capacity Act 2005 (MCA) and the associated Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards.

We saw staff ensured people were comfortable and had something of their choice to occupy them. We saw people were supported in a relaxed and unhurried manner. Staff were caring and communicated well with people.

Staff focused on people they were caring for rather that the task they were carrying out. Staff spoke in a positive manner about the people they cared for and had taken the time to get to know people’s preferences and wishes. Staff had a good understanding of people’s needs and this was demonstrated in their responses to people and recognition of when people required additional support.

People’s privacy was respected. People had their independence promoted. They were offered choice on how they wanted their care delivered and were given choices throughout the day. The service endeavoured to provide end of life care so people had a choice about where they spent the end of their life. Relatives were offered the opportunity to stay with their relative at this time.

We identified one breach of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014 and the Care Quality Commission (Registration Requirements) Regulations 2009. You can see what action we told the provider to take at the back of the full version of the report.