Background to this inspection
Updated
12 February 2016
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 16 and 23 November 2015 and was unannounced. At the time of our inspection there were 95 people living at the home. The inspection was conducted by two CQC inspectors and an expert by experience. An expert by experience is a person who has personal experience of using or caring for someone who uses this type of care service.
Before the inspection, the provider completed a Provider Information Return (PIR). This is a form that asks the provider to give some key information about the service, what the service does well and improvements they plan to make.
Before we visited the service we reviewed the information that we had received. For example, we looked at the statutory notifications that the provider had sent us. A statutory notification is information about important events which the provider is required to send us by law. We contacted the health and social care commissioners who help place and monitor the care of people living in the home that have information about the quality of the service. We also contacted Healthwatch Northamptonshire who help local people get the best out of their local health and social care services.
We used the Short Observational Framework for Inspection (SOFI). SOFI is a way of observing care to help us understand the experience of people who could not talk with us. During the inspection we spoke with 13 people who used the service and nine relatives. We also spoke with nine care staff including; the manager, two lifestyle support coordinators, the chef and the housekeeper. We made observations about the interactions between people who used the service and the staff and we reviewed individual plans of care relating to four people. We also reviewed three staff files and records relating to the management of the home such as the outcome of satisfaction surveys and quality assurance audits.
Updated
12 February 2016
This was an unannounced inspection that took place on 16 and 23 November 2015. The service is registered to provide Accommodation for people who require nursing or personal care for up to 102 older people. At the time of our inspection there were 95 people living there.
The service has a registered manager. 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.
People were cared for in a safe way whilst being encouraged to maintain their independence. This was reflected in the staff’s knowledge about safeguarding, the systems and processes to support their practice in this area.
The focus of care was on personalisation and independence. Staff worked with people to identify their health and personal care needs and were very creative and innovative in enabling people to maintain their personal interests and preferred lifestyles. People looked happy and well cared for and consistently commented about how kind and caring the staff were.
Staff showed genuine concern and consideration towards the people they cared for, there was a strong focus on enabling people to feel cared for and this extended to people’s family members who also felt that they mattered. The quality of people’s lives was also enhanced through their relationships with staff who actively promoted their privacy and dignity.
The preadmission assessments took into account the person’s own health and personal care needs. These assessments formed the basis of the individual’s plans of care and the personalised support they subsequently experienced. People’s personal routines and preferences were identified and were respected.
The management delivered individualised care and support for the people who used the service; this started with their philosophy of providing support tailored to people’s individual needs and the ‘managers pledge’ which stated ‘To support people with the same respect that you would want for yourself and a member of your family, to treat each person as an individual by offering a personalised service and to enable people to maintain their maximum independence, choice and control.’ The vision and values were person-centred and ensured people were at the heart of the service. The vision and values were integral to the service including the selection and training of staff and staff delivered them with enthusiasm and commitment.
There was an emphasis on continually striving to improve. The management recognised, promoted and established innovative ways to develop a high quality service. The service worked in partnership with other organisations to make sure they were following current best practice; worked towards the achievement of recognised accreditation schemes and continued to make improvements over time.
People were encouraged to express their views about how the service could be improved and developed; regular meetings were held with them to discuss what mattered to them.
Robust quality assurance systems had been established the service had conducted formal satisfaction surveys for people who used the service, relatives and staff. A range of regular audits were conducted to identify areas for improvements and action plans were used to ensure any improvements were completed within an appropriate time frame.