The inspection took place on 11 November 2015 and was announced.
13 Elm Road is registered to provide accommodation for up to three adults, who require personal care. It is a large four bedroom terraced property, situated in a residential area, close to local amenities and transport links. There were three people living in the home on the day of the inspection.
There is 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. 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.
We found that people who used the service were protected from avoidable harm and potential abuse because the provider had taken steps to minimise the risk of abuse. Procedures for preventing abuse and for responding to allegations of abuse were in place. Staff told us they were confident about recognising and reporting suspected abuse and the manager was aware of their responsibilities to report abuse to relevant agencies.
Medicines were safely administered by suitably trained care workers. We found that medicines were stored safely and adequate stocks were maintained. Regular medicines audits were being carried out to ensure that medication practices were safe and to ensure that any medication errors could be promptly identified.
Staff supported people to make decisions about their daily life and care needs.
People’s nutritional needs were monitored by the staff. People’s dietary requirements and preferences were taken into account.
Each person who lived at the home had a person centred plan. The plans we looked at contained relevant and detailed information. This helped to ensure staff had the information they needed to support people in the correct way and respect their wishes, their likes and dislikes. A range of risk assessments had been undertaken depending on people’s individual needs to reduce the risk of harm. Risk assessments and behavioural management plans were in place for people who presented with behaviour that challenges. These risk assessments and behavioural management plans gave staff guidance to keep themselves and people who lived in the home safe, whilst in the home and when out in the community.
Sufficient numbers of staff were employed to provide care and support to help keep people safe and to offer support in accordance with individual need. This enabled people to take part in regular activities both at home and in the community when they wished to.
Staff had been appropriately recruited to ensure they were suitable to work with vulnerable adults. Staff were only able to start work at the home when the provider had received satisfactory pre-employment checks.
Staff told us they felt supported in their work. They told us they had the training and experience they required to carry out their roles and responsibilities. The majority of staff held a relevant qualification and all staff had worked in the home for a number of years.
Staff received an induction and regular mandatory (required) training to update their practice and knowledge. Records showed us that staff were up-to-date with the training. This helped to ensure that they had the skills and knowledge to meet people’s needs.
Regular staff meetings were held and handovers took place twice a day. Systems were in place to provide supervision and appraisal to staff.
Staff had good knowledge of people’s likes and dislikes in respect of food and drinks and people’s routines in respect of meal times. We saw that people who lived in the home had plenty to eat and drink. People in the home were supported by the staff and external health care professionals to maintain their health and wellbeing.
People who lived in the home took part in activities both in the home and in the community.
During our visit we observed staff supported people in a caring manner and treat people with dignity and respect.
Staff understood people’s individual needs and how to meet them. We saw that there were good relationships between people living at the home and staff, with staff taking time to talk and interact with people.
A procedure was in place for managing complaints. We found that complaints had been managed in accordance with the home’s complaints procedure.
Systems were in place to check on the quality of the service and ensure improvements were made. This included carrying out regular audits on areas of practice.
We looked around the building. We found it was clean and well maintained. Staff had a rota in place to ensure cleaning was completed daily.