Archived: Carranmore

Carranmore is a residential home that provides support for up to six people with mental health issues. The provider, the Croftlands Trust is a local charitable organisation which provides support for people in a number of residential homes and in the community.

There was a registered manager in place. 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.

The service carried out risk assessments in order to keep the people who used the service safe during times of crisis. These assessments were not sufficiently detailed or robust. We made a recommendation about this.

Some areas of the home required refurbishment and were difficult to keep clean. We made a recommendation about this.

The service had sufficient appropriately recruited staff available to support people.

As part of their recruitment process the service carried out appropriate background checks on new staff.

Staff were aware of how to identify and report abuse.

All staff received regular supervision and appraisal.

People who needed support with nutrition and hydration received it.

People told us that staff were caring and treated them with dignity and respect.

There was a quality assurance system in place at the service.

used the information to answer the five questions we always ask;

' Is the service caring?

' Is the service responsive?

' Is the service safe?

' Is the service effective?

' Is the service well led?

This is a summary of what we found:

Is the service safe?

People were cared for in a clean and hygienic environment although further investment was required to refurbish parts of the home.

We saw that people had plans in place if they needed additional support in times of crisis.

Is the service effective?

People were cared for effectively because the staff worked in conjunction with other providers to ensure people's needs were met. The service had up to date comprehensive support plans.

Is the service caring?

People were cared for by warm and friendly staff who were knowledgeable about the people they cared for. Support plans were based on comprehensive assessments. People were involved in writing and reviewing their own support plans.

Is the service responsive?

Records confirmed that people's preferences, interests, aspirations and diverse needs had been recorded and care and support had been provided in accordance with people's wishes. People had access to activities that were important to them and had been supported to maintain relationships with their friends and relatives.

Is the service well-led?

Staff had a good understanding of the ethos of the service and quality assurance processes were in place. People who used the service and staff had been consulted with about changes and they had been listened to. The manager provided leadership and was aware of areas that required improvement.

"This is my home. I have been here for a lot of years and I am quite settled.

"We have a nice house here."

"I don't need to talk to you because everything is fine."

"The food is very good and I have a good appetite."

"I am not sure about the prescription tablets I get' But the staff do give me them."

We looked at the food that people were given in the service and we found that people were encouraged to take a balanced and nutritious diet.

We inspected the way the service managed medication and we found that, in general, this was being managed quite well.

We also looked at staffing levels and found these to be adequate.

The service had a suitable internal quality monitoring system and we could see that the staff team were making a good attempt to integrate their systems into the new Croftlands Trust quality assurance system.

We spoke with people using the service, they told us that hey were satisfied with the service they received and said "Yes, its cleaner."

"We get looked after".

"They tell you about stuff and ask before they do anything".

We found most aspects of people's needs were set out in care plans and people had been consulted and involved in how they would like to be supported and treated. However, we found in some areas around people's mental health support needs that were not as well documented. This had led to some people not getting the support they required to promote their wellbeing.

The staff at the home kept good records and were well supported. They were knowledgeable about safeguarding and had received appropriate training.

However the home itself was not clean and two of the bedrooms were below acceptable standards.