All inspections: New Milton House Residential Care Home

This inspection was unannounced and took place on the 24 November 2014.

The home was previously inspected in July 2013. Two breaches of legal requirements concerning consent to care and treatment and records were identified. We undertook a follow-up inspection in November 2013 and found improvements had been made to meet the relevant requirements.

New Milton House is a purpose built care home located in Alsager. It offers accommodation and personal care for up to 39 older people. There is a separate unit within the home called ‘The Coppice’ that provides care for up to 19 people living with dementia. The rest of the home provides traditional residential care for 20 people within the ‘Summerfields unit'. At the time of our inspection the service was providing accommodation and care to 38 people.

People who live in the home are accommodated on both floors of the two storey building and access between the first and second floors is via passenger lift or by the stairway. Bedrooms are all single, but none have en-suite facilities. There are shops, a library, doctor's surgery and a bus stop close by.

At the time of the inspection there was a registered manager at New Milton House. 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.

During our inspection, people living at New Milton House were observed to be comfortable and relaxed in their home environment and in the presence of staff. People spoken with told us that they were well cared for and confirmed that they felt safe from harm. For example, we received comments such as: “I feel very safe”; “I’m well cared for and extremely safe here”; “I feel valued and protected” and “There are enough staff to help us.”

People using the service and relatives spoken with were generally complimentary of the standard of care provided at New Milton House. We received positive feedback which confirmed people spoken with were of the opinion that their care needs were met by the provider. Comments received included: “Very good quality care I give them 9 ¾ out of 10. It is A1”; “Yes I feel very happy with my care. It is spot on”; “I have no problems. I am very happy with all my care” and “I am sometimes invited to join Mum for lunch.”

Staff confirmed they had access to a range of induction, mandatory and other training that was relevant to individual roles and responsibilities. The training was delivered via e-learning or face to face sessions. Staff also had access to supervision sessions.

During our inspection we noted that a range of activities had taken place in the home by the activities coordinator.

We saw that there were corporate policies and procedures in place relating to the Mental Capacity Act 2005 and Deprivation of Liberties (DoLS) however there was no evidence on training records provided that staff had completed training in the Mental Capacity Act. Likewise, staff spoken with reported that they had not completed training in this key area.

We found that people living on the dementia unit were not supported to choose daily meal options and there were no picture cards or pictorial menus available to help people living with dementia to make meal choices.

There were auditing systems in place so that the service could be monitored and developed. There were also arrangements for people who lived in the home and their relatives to be consulted about their opinions on the standard of care provided. Staff told us that they found the manager of the home to be approachable and supportive. Comments received from staff included: “I like working here”; “The manager is approachable and there if you need help” and “I feel supported to do my work.”

People using the service and relatives spoken with told us that in the event they needed to raise a concern they were confident they would be listened to and the issue acted upon promptly.

We carried out this inspection to check that areas of concerns identified at our last inspection had been addressed. We found improvements had been made.

During the inspection we spoke with three relatives of people who used the service. They told us that they were regularly consulted regarding their family members care and that staff were knowledgeable of their family member's needs, likes and dislikes.

We saw that staff were responsive to people needs and consulted with people before care was delivered.

We looked at three care records and saw that when care needs changed, or health assessments were carried out, the records were updated accordingly.

We spoke with two people who used the service. They told us that staff spoke to them about the care they needed and they sought consent before care was delivered. Comments we received included; 'They always ask before they do anything, it's lovely to feel so important.' And 'They do talk to me about what I want and sometimes I have a think about it. That's always fine with them.'

We spoke to two family members and a close friend of a person who lived in the home and they all said they considered the care to be good.

We spoke to one health professional who told us that they had no concerns with the care that people received at the home.

We saw that people were supported to maintain their independence and staff responded to their needs quickly.

We looked at three care records and found that information was not recorded consistently. We noted that records were disorganised, information was sometimes difficult to find and some records could not be located on the day of our inspection.

We saw that where appropriate, family members were involved in their relative's planning of care. We had concerns that legislation was not being followed to ensure that people who did not have capacity to make their own decisions had decisions made in their best interests.

We spoke with four members of staff who all told us that they enjoyed working at the home and that they felt well supported in their roles. They told us that they received training and development activities to enable them to deliver safe and effective care.

We spoke to a family member visiting at lunch time and they told us that the food always looked good and that the staff were "very good and helpful".

We spoke to two people who live in the home during their lunch and they told us that they were always asked what food they liked to eat from the menu and an alternative could always be provided. They also told us that staff were "very nice" and were "always helpful".

We spoke to a family member visiting their relative at lunch time and they told us that the food "always looked good" and the staff are "very good". They told us that staff understand different requirements of people and are "very helpful" and that they had "no complaints" and "everything was fine".

We observed people having lunch in their dining room and throughout lunch being served we saw that staff asked people if their meal was ok and if they needed anything. We spoke to people in the dining room and they told us that "the food was always lovely" and "can always have what we want".

We spoke to one person who had lived in the home for a number of years and they told us that they "never have needed to complain about the food" and "it was always lovely".

We spoke with three people who were living in the home. All said they had been asked what their needs were before admission and the registered manager had discussed with them the care the home could provide. They told us staff always consulted them about their individual needs and involved them in decisions about their care and treatment.

One person said "I've been here for about a year. There isn't anything I can complain about, if you need anything you only have to ask and the staff oblige. I'm very happy here'. Another said "I can't fault it. I sleep much better here than I did in the previous place I lived because I'm more relaxed. It's a treat".

People said staff were always careful to make sure doors were closed to protect their privacy and dignity. They said they could do as they pleased and that there were no restrictions. One person said they regularly went out for a walk in the park.

Everyone we spoke to said the meals were excellent and they felt very safe and well cared for in the home. We asked them if they would know how to raise a concern about something that was worrying them. They expressed confidence that if they had a problem they would be able to discuss it with the registered manager and that it would be taken seriously. One person said 'The manager is very nice and frequently pops in to my room to have a chat and see if everything's ok'.

People were also very complimentary about the staff. One person said 'The staff are very good at what they do' and another said 'The staff are very good; I've told them they're outstanding'.

We spoke with the local authority, who said they had no concerns about the care provided.

Archived: New Milton House Residential Care Home

All Inspections

24 November 2014

During a routine inspection

20 November 2013

During an inspection looking at part of the service

8 July 2013

During an inspection in response to concerns

8 January 2013

During a routine inspection

8 March 2012

During a routine inspection