The Care Quality Commission
  • Care Home
  • Care home

Archived: Harding House

70 Wandsworth Common Northside, Wandsworth, London, SW18 2QX (020) 8870 3653

Provided and run by:
Viridian Housing

Important: The provider of this service changed. See new profile

All Inspections

24 June 2014

During a routine inspection

There were nine people living at the home at the time of our inspection. We spoke with four people who used the service and three staff. We looked at three care records and other documents such as maintenance records, minutes of meetings, audits and daily records.

Two inspectors carried out this inspection, they were supported by a British Sign Language (BSL) interpreter. The focus of the inspection was to answer five key questions; is the service safe, effective, caring, responsive and well-led?

Below is a summary of what we found.

If you want to see the evidence that supports our summary please read the full report.

Is the service safe?

People were being cared for in an environment that was safe. Bedrooms were clean and the home was free of any trip hazards. Current maintenance records were seen.

Is the service effective?

Each person using the service had a key worker assigned to them. People knew who their key worker was and they met regularly with them. Staff working at the home were provided with training that was relevant to them and enabled them to care for people more effectively.

Is the service caring?

People told us they enjoyed living at the home and we observed staff treating people with respect. Care plans had been developed in a person centred format which considered the individual needs of people using the service.

Is the service responsive?

Regular residents meetings were held, some of which were facilitated by an advocate. People did a range of individual and group activities of their liking.

Is the service well-led?

The registered manager completed a number of audits around the home including health and safety and medication audits. Incidents were recorded and actions taking in response to them.

14 October 2013

During a routine inspection

During our unannounced inspection to Harding House we met and spoke with seven people who used the service and four staff members. We looked at five care plans and the daily records for people who used the service. We looked at staff levels and training records. At the time of our inspection the provider did not have a registered manager in post, although an application had been submitted and was in progress.

Because all the people who used the service as well as several staff members were deaf we were accompanied by a sign language interpreter and a specialist advisor for deaf people with mental health needs. The specialist advisor was also deaf and used sign language to communicate with people who lived at Harding House. British Sign Language (BSL) is a language in its own right, with its own grammar and syntax. British Sign Language does not conform to the structure of the grammatical English language.

We found the people who lived at Harding House to be open and friendly, happy to show us around and talk with us. We observed that people were not always listened to or their opinions recognised. We saw that staff although trained to use sign language communicated poorly with people who lived at Harding House. Because they were not listened to and communication in their own language was poor, people who used the service told us that they were lonely. We saw that the house was old and some areas were poorly maintained causing a potential hazard to people and staff.

10 August 2012

During an inspection looking at part of the service

On this occasion we did not speak to people who use the service because we were looking at whether the provider had taken action with regards to care records and storage of medication. However, when we visited in April 2012 people told us they generally enjoyed living in Harding House and were happy there most of the time. They stated that they were well supported by staff but staff could occasionally be friendlier in how they communicated with them.

20 April 2012

During a routine inspection

People told us they generally enjoyed living in Harding House and were happy there most of the time. They stated that they were well supported by staff but staff could occasionally be friendlier in how they communicated with them.

We found that people's care needs had not always been recorded in a personalised way and there was insufficient evidence to show that their individual needs were always being met. We also found that the storage arrangements for medicines were not always secure or appropriate.