Archived: Cameron House Care Home

Cameron House Care Home is a residential care home providing both personal and nursing care and is based in Bury, Greater Manchester. The service can support up to 40 people in one adapted building over two floors and there were 36 people receiving support at the time of the inspection.

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

We found shortfalls in the homes approach to safety and in the home’s auditing and quality monitoring processes. Equipment was not stored safely due to lack of storage. This had caused a potential trip hazard and put people at risk of falling. A sluice room that needed to be locked for safety reasons was also left unlocked on three occasions that we checked. All other areas of the home were safe. Quality assurance systems had not been effective at picking up issues identified during the inspection. We identified one regulatory breach. We have made a recommendation about the effective management of people’s oral healthcare. We have made a recommendation about supporting people to access activities and improving links with the local community.

Staff were knowledgeable about safeguarding people and when to raise concerns. People received their medicines safely and recruitment practices were also safe. The home was clean and staff understood their infection control responsibilities.

Care plans were person centred and included peoples’ choices and preferences. Staff received the training they needed to carry out their roles and gave good feedback about the supervision and support they received. People were supported to eat and drink a balanced diet and were given choices. The environment was not dementia friendly and the home was aware that future refurbishment plans needed to consider this. The home supported people to make their own decisions where possible and worked within the principles of the Mental Capacity Act.

Care files recorded what was important to people and what their choices and preferences were, but did not record people’s involvement in formal reviews of their care. The laundry system at the home was not always effective. People had reported that clothes were going missing in the laundry. People and relatives we spoke with told us that staff were kind and caring and that people were treated with dignity. We observed staff that were committed to their roles and were responsive to people’s needs and promoted their independence.

People did not always have suitable end of life care plans in place to advise staff of their end of life wishes and preferences and care files had not always been updated to record changes in people’s ability to communicate. There was good feedback from visiting professionals and people were supported to access health and social care professionals when they needed to.

The quality of care people received was supported by an established quality assurance process. This had not been fully effective as it had not always identified issues picked up during the inspection. The home was managed by an experienced registered manager and staff felt valued and reported a high level of job satisfaction. There was an open transparent culture that supported good practice and there was good communication with people, familes and staff.

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.

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

Rating at the last inspection

The last rating for this service was good (published 20 April 2017)

Why we inspected

This was a planned inspection based on the previous rating.

Enforcement

We have identified one regulatory breach in relation to good governance. We also made two recommendations to support the home to improve. Please see the action we have told the provider to take at the end of this report.

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.

At the last inspection the service was rated overall Good. This was an unannounced inspection which took place on the 7 March 2016. At this inspection we found the service remained Good.

The service was meeting all the relevant fundamental standards. People who used the service told us they felt safe and well cared for. Staff members felt supported in their roles and were adequately trained to meet the needs of people who used the service. People were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff supported them in the least restrictive way possible; the policies and systems in the service supported this practice.

Further information is in the detailed findings below.

The comments received included 'The girls look after me smashingly' and 'I think his care here is brilliant. The staff are so kind and caring.'

People's care records were kept secure and contained enough information to show how they were to be supported and cared for. The records we looked at were complete and up to date, with no missing information and few documentation errors. They also showed that people gave consent to their care and treatment. Systems were in place to protect people who lacked the capacity to make decisions about their own care and support.

People were cared for by a sufficient number of staff that were properly qualified, skilled and experienced to meet people's needs. The people we spoke with were very positive about the staff at the home. The comments received included 'The staff look after me properly' and 'They always do things for me when I ask.'

Regular monitoring of the services and facilities provided was in place to help protect people against the risks of inappropriate or unsafe care.