The Care Quality Commission
  • Care Home
  • Care home

Archived: Stonecroft - Care Home with Nursing Physical Disabilities

Overall: Good read more about inspection ratings

Stonecroft House, Stonecroft, Barnetby, South Humberside, DN38 6DY (01652) 688344

Provided and run by:
Leonard Cheshire Disability

All Inspections

29 July 2015

During a routine inspection

This inspection was undertaken on 29 July 2015, and was unannounced. This service was last inspected on 23 and 24 October 2014 and was found to be in breach of regulation in regards to safeguarding people from abuse and some issues relating to rotation of medical stock and auditing of the service. At that time we rated the service as requiring improvement under the safe and well led domains because of this. At this inspection we found the issues from the previous inspection had been addressed and the service was compliant with the regulations that we looked at.

This service is registered with the Care Quality Commission [CQC] to provide accommodation for up to 29 people who have a primary need of physical disability. The service is situated in an old detached building set in a rural location near Barnetby le Wold, so transport is essential. Although there are two floors, all the services for people are on the ground floor. The upper floor is used for administration and staff training purposes. All the bedrooms are designed for single occupancy, eight of which have en-suite facilities. There are sufficient bathrooms and communal rooms for people to use.

The service has a registered manager who has been in post since 2006. 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.

People who used the service were looked after by staff who understood they had a duty to protect people from harm and abuse. Staff knew how to report abuse; they said they would raise issues with the registered manager or local authority. A safeguarding threshold tool had been put in place since our last inspection to help advise staff and to assist the management team to recognise and report issues that may fall under the safeguarding threshold.

People living at the service were provided with home cooked food. Their fluids and food intake was monitored to make sure people’s nutritional needs were maintained. People who required prompting or support to eat were assisted by patient and attentive staff. Staff monitored people’s nutritional needs and gained help and advice from relevant health care professionals which helped to maintain people’s wellbeing.

A visiting health care professional we spoke with was positive about the help and support provided to people by the staff. They told us that the staff acted upon their advice to promote people’s health and they had no concerns to raise.

People’s privacy and dignity was respected. People were involved in making decisions, where they could, about their care and treatment. People were supported by staff, family and legal guardians to help do this. People made decisions about what they wanted to do and how they wanted to spend their time, where this was possible. Staff supported people to make decisions for themselves. They reworded questions or information to help people understand. This helped people to live their life the way they wished too.

There was a complaints procedure in place. Complaints received were investigated and issues raised were dealt with in a timely way with the complainant being informed of the outcome.

People and their relatives were asked for their opinions about the service. Regular audits of the service were undertaken which helped to monitor, maintain or improve the quality of service provided to people.

22 and 23 October 2014

During a routine inspection

We undertook this unannounced inspection on the 22 and 23 October 2014. The last inspection was completed on 17 December 2013 and the service was meeting the regulations we assessed.

Stonecroft Care Home can support up to 29 people who have a primary need of physical disability. The service is situated in an old detached building set in a quiet location so transport is essential. Although there are two floors, all the services for people are on the ground floor. The upper floor is used for administration and staff training purposes. All the bedrooms are designed for single occupancy, eight of which have en-suite facilities. There are sufficient bathrooms and communal rooms for people to use.

The service had a registered manager who had been in post since 2006. 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.

Staff had completed training in how to protect people from abuse but there had been times when incidents of potential harm had not been recognised as such and had not been discussed with the local safeguarding team for advice and guidance. You can see what action we told the registered provider to take at the back of the full version of the report.

The environment was safe, equipment was checked and maintained and risk assessments were carried out.

There was sufficient staff on duty day and night to meet people’s needs. Staff, received training and support so they would feel confident and skilled when supporting people.

When people were assessed as lacking the capacity to make their own decisions, meetings were held with relevant people to plan care which was in the person’s best interests.

People had their health and social care needs assessed and person-centred plans were developed to guide staff in how to support people. The plans of care were detailed and included routines and preferences for how care should be delivered. People who used the service received additional care and treatment from health professionals based in the community.

People spoken with said staff were caring and they were happy with the care they received. They had access to community facilities via the use of minibuses and there were activities arranged in the service by staff and volunteers. People were able to make suggestions and raise concerns.

The registered provider had a quality team which completed a series of annual audits and questionnaires. The registered manager and staff team monitored the quality of the service on a day to day basis but management checks had not identified some decision making, recording and environmental issues.

17 December 2013

During a routine inspection

We found people received the care and support they needed. We saw people's care plans were person centred. They described the way people wanted to live their lives and how they preferred to be supported by staff to enable them to do so.

Staff knowledge of people's complex needs was good. There was a varied activities programme and people were able to maintain links with the community where possible.

People told us they liked the meals and had sufficient quantities to eat and drink. Comments included, "We have themed meal nights like Indian night and Italian night; they are really good' and 'I like pasta best.'

Areas of the home were in need of redecoration, maintenance and refurbishment. A works programme was due to commence in the New Year. Relatives we spoke with told us, 'I'm happy with the home, it's always nice and clean. Could do with updating for some of the younger people here' and 'The home has a nice atmosphere, it's very warm and comfortable. Residents are able to move around in their chairs easily.'

Background checks had been carried out on staff before they started to work at the service to make sure they were suitable to work with vulnerable people.

Throughout our inspection we observed good interactions and found people who used the service were relaxed and happy in the care of the staff.

We saw there were systems in place to gain people's views and check if staff were following company policies.

19 February 2013

During a routine inspection

Before people received any care or treatment they were asked for their consent and the provider acted in accordance with their wishes. A care assistant told us that 'Service users let you know things in different ways, facial gestures, thumbs up or a smile', 'I have built a relationship up with people so I know what they want.'

During our inspection we looked at five care files. We saw that the files contained a 'care needs assessment' that was used to develop an individual plan of care. We saw evidence that a range of health care professionals had been involved in the holistic care of the people who use the service.

Appropriate arrangements were in place for the safe ordering, dispensing and disposal of medication. The home had a range of medication policies in place that outlined how to manage medicines effectively.

We spoke to the manager in relation to staffing levels and were told 'We complete a care needs assessments before anyone moves into the home, this lets us accurately predict how many hours of care someone will need; we plan staff accordingly.'

We saw the complaints file and noted that the home had received very few formal complaints. The manager provided us with a copy of the 'Have Your Say' easy read document that was given to people in their welcome pack as they move into the home.

14 September 2011

During a routine inspection

We were able to observe staff interacting in a positive and pleasant way; staff approached people in a calm, polite and respectful manner. People were seen to be comfortable when approaching staff to make their needs known.

We were told that the managers and staff were helpful and kind and helped people to be independent. People who use the service told us that they are well looked after and that their needs are met.

Comments included, "I'm very well looked after, I have no complaints', "I'm very happy here, the staff are great" and 'I am involved in decisions about my care, I have my support plans in my room'.

We were told that people using the service felt included in the running of the service and could have their say. People told us that they considered the home was well managed. Comments included 'I think this place is run well' and 'It's ok here, if you have any issues with anything they will listen to you and they do try and make changes'.

Relatives told us they were very satisfied with the care provided and they described the attitude of the staff as 'very willing to help' and 'caring and committed'.

Relatives told us they were always kept informed and felt confident in approaching the staff and management if they had any concerns.