Archived: Athelstan House

We looked at the care plans for four people using the service. We saw the plans detailed people's care needs and the support their care workers should provide. The plans were updated regularly and people were involved in reviewing the care they received.

The provider had policies and procedures for managing people's prescribed medicines. Support workers understood the procedures and had received training to enable them to make sure people received the medication they needed.

We looked at the staff recruitment and training records for four support workers. The provider carried out necessary pre-employment checks but not all staff had received refresher training for food hygiene.

There were procedures in place to respond to any complaints received from people using the service or other people. There had been no formal complaints since our last inspection in March 2013.

We requested following our visit the provider send us an action plan telling us how improvements would be made. We carried out an inspection on 1 March 2013 to ensure improvements had been made and standards were being met.

We looked at the care records of two people, spoke with two members of staff and two people who use the service. People who use the service told us they were happy living at the home and improvements had been made. One person told us "staff help me with cooking and cleaning, they also support me to be involved in community activities."

We found that care assessments and care planning had improved. Staff working in the home were able to tell us how people were supported to ensure their needs were met.

We also found that records relating to the management of the home had also improved. There was for example staffing rota's available that reflected who was working in the home.

We found that care and treatment was not always planned appropriately. For example care plans and risk assessments were not always in place for people who were at risk of seizures whilst out in the community. We also found there was an absence of care plans and risk assessments where people may display behaviour that is challenging to the service.

We looked at how people's medication was managed and found there was an appropriate system. Staff had been appropriately trained and the service carried out regular audits to ensure medication had been administered correctly and was being handled safely.

We found that there was sufficient staff on duty during our visits and that staff had received appropriate training. However we did find that none of the staff working in the service had received any first aid training.

We found that records in the home were not always accurately kept. For example staffing rota's were often incomplete.