This inspection took place on 16 and 17 April 2015 and was unannounced. The inspection was carried out by two inspectors.
Park Lane house provides care and accommodation for up to 30 older people who may have dementia. At the time of the inspection there were 27 people living at the home.
The home had 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 living at the home told us that they felt safe. Families also told us that they felt confident that their relatives were kept safe by staff who knew how to care for them. Staff spoken with had received training in how to recognise and protect people from abuse and were able to tell us what action they would take if they witnessed abuse.
People, relatives and staff told us they thought that there were enough staff in the home. However, we observed that there were periods of time during the day that people were left unsupervised in communal areas, which could leave them at risk of falling and sustaining an injury.
There were systems in place to ensure appropriate staff were employed by the home and new members of staff spoke positively about their induction.
People received their medicines safely and when they needed them. Medicines were stored and secured appropriately and audited regularly.
Staff told us they felt well trained to do their job and families spoke positively about staff and commented on how quickly new staff settled into the home.
The registered manager had been provided with advice with regard to submitting applications for DoLS for a number of people living at the home. We saw staff gained consent from people before providing care or assistance.
People were supported to see their GP, dentist and optician and district nurses visited on a daily basis to support people who required insulin. However, where required, referrals to healthcare professionals were not always raised or followed up.
Relatives told us that staff were kind and caring. We saw instances where staff spoke warmly to people and offered reassurance when they became distressed. However, we also observed other instances where people were not treated with dignity and respect.
Relatives told us they felt involved in their relatives care plans and were encouraged to discuss any concerns they may have with regard to their relative, with the staff or the registered manager.
Relatives told us that they considered the service to be well led and they spoke highly of the registered manager. Staff felt supported by the manager to do their job and if they had any concerns they felt the registered manager would support them.
People told us that they had not been invited to any relatives meetings but provided feedback on the service by completing client satisfaction surveys.
Where advice was given to the registered manager by healthcare agencies, this was taken on board and acted upon.