Archived: Morrell House

Updated 4 June 2016

We carried out this inspection under Section 60 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 as part of our regulatory functions. The inspection was planned to check whether the registered 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 5 and 6 May 2016. This inspection was unannounced. The inspection team was made up of one Adult Social Care (ASC) Inspector.

Before our inspection we asked the registered provider to complete a Provider Information Return (PIR). This is a form that asks the registered provider to give some key information about the service, what the service does well and what improvements they plan to make. We looked at information we held about the service, which included information shared with the Care Quality Commission’s via our public website and notifications sent to us since the last inspection. Notifications are when registered providers send us information about certain changes, events or incidents that occur within the service.

During the inspection we spoke with five people using the service and four visitors who were their relatives or friends. We spoke with the head of service, the registered manager, the deputy manager, five care staff and the cook. We also spoke with a visiting healthcare professional.

We looked at four care files, four staff recruitment and training files and a selection of records used to monitor the quality of the service. We observed interactions between staff and people using the service and observed lunch being served.

Updated 4 June 2016

Morrell House is a residential care home. It provides personal care and accommodation for up to 29 older people and specialises in supporting people who may be living with dementia. The home is a large detached building and accommodation is provided over two floors. There is a small car park at the front of the property. The home is situated in a residential area of York. The registered provider is City of York Council.

We inspected this service on 5 and 6 May 2016. This inspection was unannounced. At the time of our inspection there were 26 people using this service.

The service was last inspected in November 2013 at which time it was compliant with all the regulations we assessed.

The registered provider is required to have a registered manager in post and on the day of the inspection there was a manager registered with the Care Quality Commission (CQC). A registered manager is a person who has registered with the CQC 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 this inspection we found that people’s needs were assessed, risks identified and risk assessments put in place to keep people safe.

Appropriate checks were completed to ensure that only people considered suitable to work with vulnerable adults had been employed. There were sufficient staff employed to meet people’s needs.

Staff we spoke with showed a good understanding of how to identify and respond to safeguarding concerns.

People were supported to take their prescribed medications, but there were discrepancies in records of medicines in stock. We have made a recommendation about this in our report.

Staff received effective training and supervision to support them in their role. The registered provider and registered manager were proactive in developing staff knowledge and implementing changes to provide effective dementia care.

People were supported to make decisions in line with relevant legislation.

People were supported to eat and drink enough and access healthcare services where necessary.

Staff were observed to be, and described by people using the service as, kind and caring. We observed that staff had developed meaningful caring relationships with the people they supported.

People told us that staff listened to them, respected their decisions and treated them with dignity and respect.

Care plans were person centred, reviewed and updated regularly and information was effectively communicated to enable staff to provide person centred care responsive to people’s needs.

People using the service told us there was not always a lot to do at Morrell House, but we saw that the registered manager and registered provider were developing the range of activities on offer to support and encourage people to engage in meaningful activities. We have made a recommendation about this in our report.

The service was well-led. We received positive feedback about the registered manager and the service provided. The registered manager and registered provider were proactive in developing the service, introducing numerous pilots and projects to improve the quality of the care and support provided and to improve the outcomes for people using the service.

There were systems in place to monitor the quality of the service provided and information regarding improvements or changes needed were communicate with staff.