11 March 2015
During a routine inspection
This unannounced inspection took place on 12th March 2015. We last inspected Applethwaite Green in December 2013. At that inspection we found the service was meeting all the regulations that we assessed.
Applethwaite Green is situated in a residential area of Windermere but in walking distance of local amenities. It provides accommodation up to 28 older people living in three units. The home offers accommodation in single bedrooms and there are suitable shared areas with each unit having its own small kitchen, lounge and dining area. One of the units provides care for people who are living with dementia. There were 25 people living at the home at the time of our inspection.
The service had a registered manager in post. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission (CQC) 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 and associated Regulations about how the service is run.
We have made a recommendation about ensuring information relating to people’s needs is clearly shared at all levels of staff in the home.
The service was not being well managed in respect of effectiveness of the quality monitoring systems used to assess practices and improve aspects of the service where needed.
We found breaches of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2010 in relation to effectively monitoring and improving the quality of the service people received.
These regulations correspond to the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014.
You can see what action we told the provider to take at the back of the full version of the report
We spoke with people who lived at Applethwaite Green in their own rooms and in the communal areas on the units. People living in the home told us that staff were available to help them when they needed this. Everyone we spoke with told us that they felt safe and happy living at the home.
We saw that the staff on duty approached people in a friendly and respectful way and using their preferred names.
People were able to see their friends and families as they wanted and go out into the community with support. There were no restrictions on when people could visit the home. All the visitors we spoke with told us that staff made welcome in the home.
The registered provider had systems in place to make sure people living there were protected from abuse and avoidable harm. They also had safe systems for recruitment to make sure the staff taken on were suited to working there.
Safe systems were in place for the recruitment of new staff and for the induction and on going training and development of staff working there. The staff we spoke with were aware of their responsibility to protect people from harm or abuse. They knew the action to take if they were concerned about the safety or welfare of an individual.
The environment of the home was welcoming and the communal areas were decorated and arranged to make them homely and relaxing. The home was being maintained and we found that all areas were clean and free from lingering unpleasant odours.
Where people were living with dementia there was highly visible signage to show people what different areas of the home were for. This was to support and promote people’s independence. The home had moving and handling equipment and aids to meet people’s mobility needs and to promote their independence
Medicines were stored safely and records were kept of medicines received and disposed of so all of them could be accounted for.
People knew how they could complain about the service they received and were confident that action would be taken in response to any concerns they raised.
The service followed the requirements of the Mental Capacity Act 2005 Code of practice and Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards. This helped to protect the rights of people who were not able to make important decisions.