Archived: Northleigh

At the last inspection in May 2016, the provider was in breach of two regulations relating to dignity and respect and good governance. At this inspection the provider demonstrated that improvements had been made and sustained.

There was a registered manager in post at the time of our inspection; however the registered manager was on a period of long term absence from the home. The provider had ensured that an appropriate registered manager from another service was in place and responsible for the day to day running of the home.

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 had care plans that were personalised to their individual needs and wishes. Records contained detailed information to assist care workers to provide care and support in a person centred approach that respected each person's individual requirements and promoted treating people with dignity and respect.

Care records contained risk assessments and risk management plans to protect people from identified risks and helped to keep them safe but also enabled positive risk taking. They gave information for staff on the identified risk and informed staff on the measures to take to minimise any risks.

People were supported to take their medicines as prescribed. Records showed that medicines were obtained, stored, administered and disposed of safely. People were supported to maintain good health and had access to healthcare services when needed.

Staff understood the need to protect people from harm and knew what action they should take if they had any concerns. There were formal systems in place to assess people’s capacity for decision making under the Mental Capacity Act 2005 and Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS).

Staffing levels ensured that people received the support they required safely and at the times they needed. The recruitment practice protected people from being cared for by staff that were unsuitable to work in the home.

People received care from staff that were compassionate, friendly and kind. Staff had the skills and knowledge to provide the care and support people needed and were supported by a management team which was receptive to ideas and committed to providing a high standard of care.

People and staff were confident in the temporary management structure of the home and felt listened to and supported. People and staff were able to provide feedback and this was acted on and improvements were made. The service had audits and quality monitoring systems in place which ensured people received good quality care that enhanced their life. Policies and procedures were in place which reflected the care provided at the home.

There was a registered manager in post at the time of our inspection; however they were not available on the day of the inspection. 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’s privacy and dignity was not always protected and promoted. There were many occasions when people’s confidential information was discussed in front of other people who used the service.

The systems in place for monitoring the quality of the service delivery were not always effective. There were issues relating to records which were out of date and inaccurate.

People felt safe in their own home. Staff understood the need to protect people from harm and abuse and knew what action they should take if they had any concerns.

Staffing levels ensured that people received the support they required at the times they needed. There were sufficient staff to meet the needs of the people and recruitment procedures protected people from receiving unsafe care from care staff unsuited to the job.

People received care from staff that were supported to carry out their roles to meet the assessed needs of people living at the home. Staff received training in areas that enabled them to understand and meet the care needs of each person.

Care records contained risk assessments and risk management plans to protect people from identified risks and helped to keep them safe but also enabled positive risk taking. They gave information for staff on the identified risk and informed staff on the measures to take to minimise any risks.

People were supported to take their medicines as prescribed. Records showed that medicines were obtained, stored, administered and disposed of safely. People were supported to maintain good health and had access to healthcare services when needed.

People were actively involved in decisions about their care and support needs. There were formal systems in place to assess people’s capacity for decision making under the Mental Capacity Act 2005 and Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS).

Care plans were written in a person centred approach and focussed on empowering people; personal choice, ownership for decisions and people being in control of their life. They detailed how people wished to be supported and people were fully involved in making decisions about their care. People participated in a range of activities both in the home and in the community and received the support they needed to help them do this. People were able to choose where they spent their time and what they did.

People had caring relationships with the staff that supported them. Complaints were appropriately investigated and action was taken to make improvements to the service when this was found to be necessary. Staff and people were confident that issues would be addressed and that any concerns they had would be listened to.

We found two breaches of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014.

We looked at care records for four people and saw that each person had a care plan that detailed how they were supported with decision making. We saw that care plans contained most of the information staff needed to provide care and support to people including details of people's preferences for how they wished to be assisted.

We found that appropriate arrangements were in place in relation to obtaining and administration of people's medication.

We found that the service had an effective system to assess and monitor the quality of service that people receive.