Background to this inspection
Updated
13 April 2015
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.
The inspection was undertaken by one inspector, took place on 3 February 2015 and was announced. The provider was given 24 hours’ notice because the location was a small care home for people who are often out during the day; we needed to be sure that someone would be in.
Before the inspection we reviewed information we held about the service. This included previous inspection reports and notifications we had received. A notification is information about important events which the service is required to send us by law.
People had limited verbal communication and were unable to tell us about their views of the service. We spent time in the home observing how people spent their day as well as observing the care being provided by the staff team.
During the inspection we spoke with the registered manager and one member of staff. We also spoke with one relative, a befriender employed by Mencap who visited people in the home and two health care professionals, a GP and an occupational therapist, who had supported people who lived at the home.
We looked at one record related to people’s individual care needs. This record included support plans, risk assessments and daily monitoring records. We also looked at all records related to the administration of medicines, three staff recruitment files and records associated with the management of the service, including quality audits.
Updated
13 April 2015
The inspection took place on 3 February 2015 and was announced. The provider was given 24 hours’ notice because the location was a small care home for people who are often out during the day; we needed to be sure that someone would be in.
16 Hill Park Road provides care and accommodation for one person. On the day of the inspection one person lived in the home. 16 Hill Park Road can provide care for people who have learning disabilities and may also have with mental health conditions, sensory impairment and/or have restricted mobility.
The service had a registered manager in post. 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 and staff were relaxed, kind and caring interactions took place. The environment was clean and people were well cared for. A friend said; “[…] is cared for by kind considerate staff” and “It’s a lovely home, always clean, a pleasure to visit.”
Care records contained in-depth information that described what staff needed to do to provide personalised care and support. Staff responded quickly to people’s change in needs. Where appropriate friends, relatives and health and social care professionals were involved in identifying people’s needs. People preferences, life histories, disabilities and abilities were taken into account, communicated and recorded.
People’s risks were managed well and monitored. Policies and procedures were in place and understood by staff to help protect people and keep them safe.
People were promoted to live full and active lives and were supported to go out and use local services and facilities. Activities were meaningful and reflected people’s interests and individual hobbies. A relative commented that staff took action to ensure people were not socially isolated.
People were supported to maintain a healthy balanced diet. Dietary and nutritional specialists’ advice was sought so that people with complex needs in their eating and drinking were supported effectively.
People had their medicines managed safely and received their medicines as prescribed. People were supported to maintain good health through regular access to health and social care professionals, such as GPs, occupational therapists and social workers.
People, friends, relatives and staff were encouraged to be involved and help drive continuous improvements. This helped ensure positive progress was made in the delivery of care and support provided by the service.
The service sought feedback form people and encouraged people to share their concerns and complaints. The registered manager confirmed that, whilst they had never received any form of complaint, if they did, they would investigate the matter thoroughly and use the outcome as an opportunity for learning to take place.
People were kept safe and protected from discrimination. All staff had undertaken training on safeguarding adults from abuse and equality and diversity. Staff displayed good knowledge on how to report any concerns and described what action they would take to protect people against harm. Professionals and appropriate legal representatives had been used where best interests decisions had been made. This helped to ensure people’s rights were protected.
There were sufficient staff to meet people’s needs. Staff were appropriately trained and had the correct skills to carry out their roles effectively. One staff member said: “We get all the training we need”. The service followed safe recruitment practices to help ensure staff were suitable to work with vulnerable adults. Staff described the management as very open, supportive and approachable. Staff talked positively about their jobs.
There were effective quality assurance systems in place. Incidents were appropriately recorded and analysed. Learning from incidents were used to help drive improvements and ensure positive progress was made in the delivery of care and support provided by the service.