Archived: The Pines

We inspected the home in January 2013 and again in May 2013. At these inspections we found that the service was not meeting the standards required relating to assessing and monitoring the quality of care provided. We found that people were at risk of unsafe or inappropriate care because systems designed to enable the registered person to regularly assess and monitor the quality of services provided were not effective.

When we visited in August 2013, we found that many improvements had been made and the provider was now meeting this standard. The staff we spoke with told us that they were aware of changes that had been made and there were now 'more checks made on a daily, weekly and monthly basis.' At the time of our inspection most people who lived at The Pines had gone out for the day so we did not speak to many people. One person living at the home told us that they had no concerns about the staff or their care at the home.

At our inspection in January 2013 we had concerns about people's care and welfare; cleanliness and infection control within the home, the safety and suitability of the premises; the systems for assessing and monitoring the quality of the service and the accuracy of care records. The provider wrote to us on 19 February 2013 and told us that improvements were going to be made.

When we visited on 17 May 2013, we found that some improvements had been made. We found that records were stored correctly and were usually accurate. However, the improvements made in other areas were not sufficient to meet the Essential Standards of Quality and Safety. We were most concerned about the systems in place to assess and monitor the quality of the service. We have asked the provider to take action about this.

The records we saw did not provide evidence that people had their needs regularly assessed. There was no system in place to regularly monitor and assess the quality of the service provided. People were not regularly asked for their opinion of the service. Discussions with staff showed that they had a good understanding of consent and the Mental Capacity Act 2005, although this was not always recorded in people's care files.

Some areas of the home, particularly the bathrooms, needed upgrading. We saw wall tiles were cracked and in one room ceiling tiles were falling down. Soap and towels were not provided for people to use with the hand wash basins in their bedrooms. We also inspected the mattresses on two beds. These were heavily stained and dirty. The duty manager told us no checks were carried out on mattresses, cleaning, or any other areas concerning the control of infection.

People were told how they could make a complaint, although they were told the Commission for Social Care Inspection (CSCI) which ceased to exist in April 2009 could be contacted in connection with complaints.