Archived: Morningside

Updated 21 June 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 checked 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 the 12 May 2017 and was unannounced. This meant the provider did not know we would be visiting.

The inspection was carried out by one adult social care inspector.

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. We also reviewed the information we held about the service, such as notifications we had received from the registered provider. A notification is information about important events which the service is required to send us by law. In addition we spoke with representatives from adult social care. We planned the inspection using this information.

We spoke with two of the people who used the service. We also spoke with five members of staff including the manager and support staff.

We read three written records of care and other policies and records that related to the service. We looked at two staff files which included supervision, appraisal and induction and examined quality monitoring documents.

Updated 21 June 2017

This unannounced comprehensive inspection took place on 12 May 2017. We carried out a focused inspection on 29 December 2016 and found that the service was in breach of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014. Both before and after that inspection we attended quality improvement meetings organised by the local authority throughout the latter half of 2016 and 2017. As part of the quality improvement process the service provided regularly updated action plan that showed how it had improved. You can read the report from our last focused inspection, by selecting the 'all reports' link for Morningside on our website at www.cqc.org.uk

Morningside is a small bungalow set in its own grounds in a residential area a short walk from the amenities of Penrith. It provides care and support for up to five people who live with learning disabilities. At the time of our inspection there were four people living there.

The service 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. At the time of our inspection a new manager had been appointed and the service was in the process of registering them with the CQC. They will be referred to as ‘the manager’ throughout this report. The registered manager was not present but did attend the home regularly as part of the transition to the new manager.

Support plans were subject to regular review to ensure they met people’s changing needs. They were easy to read and based on assessment and reflected the needs of people. Risk assessments were carried out and plans were put in place to reduce risks to people’ safety and welfare.

Where people were not able to make important decisions about their lives the principles of the Mental Capacity Act 2005 were followed to protect their rights. Staff were aware of how to identify and report abuse. There were also policies in place that outlined what to do if staff had concerns about the practice of a colleague.

There were sufficient staff to meet people’s needs. They were trained to an appropriate standard and received regular supervision and appraisal. As part of their recruitment process the service carried out background checks on new staff including Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) checks.

The service managed medicines appropriately. They were correctly stored, monitored and administered in accordance with the prescription. People were supported to maintain their health and to access health services if needed.

Staff had developed good relationships and demonstrated good communication skills. They were aware of how to treat people with dignity and respect.

There was a complaints procedure in place that outlined how to make a complaint and how long it would take to deal with. People were aware of how to raise a complaint and who to speak to about any concerns they had.

The manager had a vision for the future of the service. A quality assurance system was in place that was utilised to improve the service.