Archived: Brandon House

Brandon House is a residential care home providing personal care, but not nursing care for up to a maximum of 42 people. There were 39 people using the service at the time of the inspection. The service is registered to support people with their mental health needs.

People’s experience of using this service and what we found

People received safe care from knowledgeable and caring staff. Staff understood their responsibilities to identify and report any concerns. The service had recruitment and selection processes in place designed to recruit only staff suitable to work in providing care. The registered manager assessed people’s needs and used a dependency tool to calculate the number of staff required to be on duty to support people. Medicines were managed safely and people received their medicines as prescribed.

Each person had a care plan containing a risk assessment and people’s choices of how they wished to be supported with their needs. The staff were provided with supervision and on-going support including training. Staff recorded when necessary how they had supported people to have enough to eat and drink of their choice. People were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff supported them in the least restrictive way possible and in their best interests; the policies and systems in the service supported this practice.

People told us that their personal care and support was provided in a way which maintained their privacy and dignity. People spoke positively about the way staff treated them and reported that they received appropriate care. Staff demonstrated a good knowledge and understanding of the people they cared for and supported, such as people with a diagnosis of diabetes or dementia.

Complaints were handled and responded to in line with the provider's complaints policy. People and their relatives could give their views on the service and this information was acted upon.

The registered manager had a clear oversight of the service and had quality assurance checks in place which enabled them to organise the service delivery. The service worked closely with other professionals to support the people living at the service.

For more details, please see the full report which is on the CQC website at www.cqc.org.uk

Rating at last inspection

The last rating for this service was good (published 21 April 2017). Since this rating was awarded the registered provider of the service has changed. We have used the previous rating to inform our planning and decisions about the rating at this inspection.

Why we inspected

This was a planned inspection based on the previous rating.

Follow up

We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service until we return to visit as per our re-inspection programme. If we receive any concerning information we may inspect sooner.

Brandon House provides accommodation and personal care for up to 42 people with mental health needs whose primary needs are for emotional support and care. The service does not provide nursing care. At the time of our inspection there were 41 people using the service.

At the time of our inspection there was a registered manager in post at the service. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission to manage the 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. The day-to-day running of the service was carried out by the registered manager with input from the provider on a regular basis.

People were safe because the registered manager and staff understood their responsibilities to recognise abuse and keep people safe. People received safe care that met their assessed needs and staff knew how to manage risk effectively.

There were sufficient staff who had been recruited safely and who had the correct skills and knowledge to provide care and support in ways that people preferred.

The provider had clear systems in place to manage medicines and people were supported to take their prescribed medicines safely.

People’s health needs were managed effectively with input from relevant health professionals and people had sufficient food and drink that met their individual needs.

The Care Quality Commission (CQC) monitors the operation of the Mental Capacity Act (MCA) 2005 and Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS) which apply to care homes. We found the provider was following the MCA code of practice.

The management team supported staff to provide care that was centred on the person and staff understood their responsibility to treat people as individuals.

People were treated with kindness and respect by staff who understood their needs and preferences. Staff respected people’s choices and took their preferences into account when providing support. People were encouraged to enjoy pastimes and interests of their choice and access the local community so that they were not socially isolated.

Staff had good relationships with people who used the service and understood their needs. People’s privacy and dignity was respected.

There was an open culture and the management team supported staff to provide care that met people’s needs.

The provider had systems in place to check the quality of the service and take the views of people into account to make improvements to the service. There were systems in place for people to raise concerns and there were opportunities available for people to give their feedback about the service.

The registered manager and the provider were visible and actively involved in supporting people and staff. Staff were positive about their roles and their views were valued by the management team.

We found that people's care was individually assessed and was person centred.

We saw the food was well presented and people told us the food was very nice and one person told us 'They feed you well'.

The environment at Brandon House was homely and people's bedrooms were decorated to individual preferences. The premises were well maintained and suitable for the service being delivered.

Staff had received regular training, supervision sessions and an annual appraisal. This showed us that suitable arrangements were in place to train and support staff to enable them to provide care to people who lived at Brandon House.

There were systems in place to ensure peoples comments and complaints were listened too and acted on.

During our inspection we spoke with people who said they liked living at Brandon House. We saw that people spoke confidently with the manager and other members of staff. We noted that people did not hesitate to make staff aware of their needs and wishes. Staff showed a good understanding of people's needs and preferences and we saw that staff treated people with respect.

One person told us the staff were there when they needed them and 'Always listened.'

We saw that there was a festive atmosphere in the home and that people enjoyed musical entertainment and dancing on the day of our inspection. People said they were looking forward to Christmas and they told us that the provider and the manager made sure they received good presents.