Archived: Penn House Residential Home

Updated 3 February 2017

We carried out this inspection under Section 60 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 as part of our regulatory functions. This inspection was planned to check whether the provider is meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Health and Social Care Act 2008, to look at the overall quality of the service, and to provide a rating for the service under the Care Act 2014.

This inspection took place on 15 November 2016 and was unannounced.

The inspection team consisted of one inspector and an expert by experience. An expert by experience is a person who has personal experience of using or caring for someone who use this type of service. Their area of expertise was dementia care.

As part of the inspection we looked at the information we held about the service. This included statutory notifications, which are notifications the provider must send us to inform us of certain events. The provider had sent us a Provider Information Return (PIR) before the inspection. A PIR is a form that asks the provider to give key information about the home, what the service does well and improvements they plan to make. We also contacted the local authority and commissioners for information they held about the service. This helped us to plan the inspection.

During the inspection we carried out observations of the care and support people received. We used the Short Observational Framework for Inspection (SOFI) to observe how care was provided for people who were unable to speak with us. We spoke with six people who lived at the home, two relatives, three staff members, the registered manager and the provider. We looked at three records about people’s care and support, four people’s medicine records and systems used for monitoring the quality of care provided. These included health and safety checks, care plan and medication audits and accident and incident reviews.

Updated 3 February 2017

This inspection was unannounced and took place on 15 November 2016. At the last inspection in September 2013, we found the provider was meeting all of the requirements of the regulations we reviewed.

Penn House Residential Home is registered to provide accommodation for up to 24 older people some of whom have dementia, who require personal care and support. On the day of the inspection there were 21 people living at the home. There was a registered manager in post. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission (CQC) 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.

People told us they felt safe living at the home. Staff knew how to protect people from harm and were aware of how to report any concerns to people’s safety or well-being. Risks were assessed and managed in order to protect people from the risk of potential harm. People told us there were enough staff available to support them. People told us they received their medicines as prescribed and were supported by staff to access ‘as required’ medicines when needed.

People told us staff had the skills and knowledge required to support them and meet their care and support needs. Staff received training relevant to their role. 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 support this practice. People told us they enjoyed the food and drink provided and were supported to access appropriate healthcare professionals when required.

We observed some interactions from staff that were uncaring, although people told us staff treated them with kindness. People were supported to make decisions about their day to day care and support. People told us they were supported by staff who maintained their privacy and dignity.

People and their relatives were involved in the assessment and planning of their care. People were supported by staff who knew them well and understood their needs and preferences. Although activities were available, some people felt these could be more focused on individual interests. People knew how to complain if they were unhappy about the care they received and there was a system in place to manage and monitor complaints.

People and relatives told us the home was well managed. Staff felt supported by the registered manager and provider. Some people and relatives felt more could be done to gather their views about the home, although the provider did have systems in place to gather feedback. The registered manager had systems in place to monitor the quality of care provided.