Arden House

The service provides accommodation and personal care for up to 33 older people who may live with dementia. People in care homes receive accommodation and personal care as a single package under one contractual agreement. CQC regulates both the premises and the care provided, and both were looked at during this inspection. The home is located in a residential area and the accommodation is split over five floors. Twenty eight people were living at the home on the day of our inspection visit.

There was a registered manager in post. 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 registered manager was unavailable at the time of our visit, so our inspection was supported by the deputy manager.

At our previous inspection in February 2016, we rated the service as ‘Good’ overall but we identified processes to support good governance needed to be improved. At this inspection we found those improvements had been made. However, managers needed to be more consistent in the application of the Mental Capacity Act 2005 when there were restrictions in people’s care they may not have the capacity to consent to. The effectiveness of the service now ‘Requires Improvement’ but the service remains rated ‘Good’ overall.

People felt safe and secure living at Arden House. There were enough staff to provide safe care, although there were occasions when staff were very busy. There were risk management plans for each person that related to their abilities and the support they needed to minimise risks. Staff had received training in safeguarding people from abuse and understood their responsibilities to protect people from avoidable harm, neglect and discrimination.

Staff completed training to ensure they had the knowledge and skills to meet people’s assessed needs and deliver safe and effective care to people. Staff understood their roles and responsibilities and had regular individual meetings and observations of their practice to make sure they carried these out safely.

Care plans provided staff with the information they needed to meet people’s needs. People’s care and support needs were kept under review and staff were informed about changes in people’s care.

Staff worked well with other healthcare professionals and arrangements were in place to support co-ordinated care. Medicines were managed in accordance with good practice and people received their medicines as prescribed. There was a choice of food and people were supported to eat a nutritionally balanced diet to maintain their health.

The home was welcoming, clean and well-maintained. People were able to take part in a range of leisure activities to promote their physical and mental wellbeing as well as activities to encourage people to socialise and reminisce together.

Staff were caring and engaged positively with people. Staff supported people to maintain their independence and knew how to provide care in a dignified way that protected people’s right to privacy. Staff offered people choice and asked people if they would like support with anything.

People thought the home was well-managed and were happy with the care they received. Staff spoke positively about the leadership and availability of managers and senior staff.

The provider and registered manager conducted regular audits of the quality of the service to make sure people received safe. responsive care. They also responded to feedback they received from people to identify areas of development. The provider welcomed external scrutiny to improve the standards of care within the home.

Arden House Care Home provides accommodation for up to 33 people who require personal care. The home has three floors and a well maintained garden area. At the time of our inspection there were 25 people living at the home, two people had been admitted to an acute hospital and five rooms were vacant.

Arden House Care Home had 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.

All the people we spoke with told us they felt safe living at Arden House. Staff we spoke with were able to confidently describe a good understanding of the types of abuse that may occur and knew how to report this should they need to. All staff were trained in safeguarding. We looked at the care records of six people who lived at the home. There were personalised assessments for identified risks for each person. These were written in enough detail to protect people from harm whilst promoting their independence.

We saw that there were processes in place to manage risk in connection with the operation of the home, however these were not consistently completed. For example the cleaning schedules for the home did not have any expected instructions detailed and they were not completed consistently. In addition the night staff task checklist, which included cleaning tasks, was not completed consistently.

There were enough qualified, skilled and experienced staff to meet people's needs however the necessary recruitment and selection processes to ensure that staff were suitable to work with people who lived at the home were not always in place.

Appropriate arrangements were in place in relation for the recording of medicine and records which showed that people received their medication as prescribed.

People we spoke with were able to tell us that they had been involved with and participated in the care planning process and had agreed to the content of their plans. Members of staff we spoke with were very positive about the standard of care they provided. Staff knew what was expected of them and that they had the necessary skills to carry out their role to a good standard. Staff told us that they had received regular supervision meetings with their line manager which we verified in the supervision records.

Most of the staff had received training on the Mental Capacity Act 2005 (MCA) and were aware of the Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS). They demonstrated an understanding of the requirements of the MCA.

There was plenty of choice of food and people could have drinks and snacks whenever they wanted them. We saw people were offered drinks and snacks throughout the day.

The staff were very caring and ensured people’s privacy and dignity were protected. They knew the people they were caring for well. This included knowledge of people’s likes and dislikes, how they could communicate, their backgrounds and the relationships that were important to them. This meant that people were cared for appropriately.

People’s needs were assessed and care and support was planned and delivered in line with their individual care plans. People told us that they were supported to access healthcare services.

All of the staff we spoke with said that staff morale was very good and that their manager was approachable and responsive to suggestions made to improve the quality of service. Some systems and processes were not established or operated effectively to ensure good governance.

We saw that people were involved in decisions about their care. Care plans and risk assessments were in place and were updated regularly to ensure people received the care they needed.

There were a variety of activities designed to meet people's needs and maintain their independence. People told us they liked living at Arden House. One person told us, "It isn't my home but the staff do all they can.' Another person told us, 'The staff are so kind.' A relative we spoke with told us, 'I have no worries whatsoever. I know they are well cared for.'

We reviewed the way that medicines were managed and found that adequate safeguards were in place to administer people's medication.

There were appropriate selection and recruitment systems in place and staff were supported by the provider. Staff we spoke with said they liked working there. One member of staff told us, "There is a great team spirit here' and another staff member told us, 'It is a wonderful feeling to put a smile on somebody's face.'

People experienced good quality care because systems for monitoring were in place. There was evidence that people and their families knew how to complain if things were not right.

We saw that staff were friendly with people and knew them well. We saw care staff helping one person to move around the home safely and giving another person a manicure. We saw that people were relaxed and comfortable with the care staff. Several people joined in a game of bingo with prizes that staff organised during the afternoon. In the hallway we saw photos of people who had been on day trips with staff to places of interest to them.

We spoke with the registered manager, the deputy manager and two members of care staff. We found they all knew people well and understood their individual support needs, likes and preferences.

The provider made regular quality assurance visits to the home to check that people received the care and support that they needed.