Archived: Aldington House

Updated 7 April 2016

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 took place on 02 and 04 March 2015 and was unannounced. Before the inspection, we looked at all the information we had about the provider and this included notifications the provider had sent to CQC. A notification is information about important events which the service is required to send us by law.

The inspection team on the first day consisted of two inspectors. A single inspector returned to the home on the second day of the inspection.

During our inspection we used the Short Observational Framework for Inspection (SOFI). SOFI is a way of observing care to help us understand the experience of people who could not talk with us. We spoke with five people using the service and six visiting relatives. We interviewed eight members of staff including the area, home and deputy managers, three care staff and two catering staff. We also spoke with one visiting health professional and observed the care and support in place for people in communal areas. We looked at four care plans, seven medication records, staff recruitment, induction, training and supervision records and records relating to the management of the service including policies and procedures, audits and minutes of meetings.

After our inspection, we contacted the local commissioning group to find out their views about the service.

Updated 7 April 2016

This inspection took place on 02 and 04 March 2016 and was unannounced. At our last inspection in June 2014, we found the provider was meeting all the regulations we inspected.

Aldington House is located in Blackheath, South East London. It is a residential care home which accommodates up to 31 older people. At the time of our inspection 23 people were using the service.

There had been no registered manger in post since July 2015. A permanent manager was recruited into post in September 2015 but left their post in January 2016. At the time of the inspection, an interim manager was responsible for managing the service whilst the provider recruited a permanent manager into 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 using the service said they felt safe and were happy living at the home. The provider had safeguarding adults and whistleblowing policies in place and staff understood how to safeguard the people in their care from abuse. Staff knew of the whistleblowing procedure and told us they would use it if required; however, they were confident that the management team would take action if any concerns were raised. The provider had appropriate recruitment and selection processes in place before new staff started work with the service. There were appropriate numbers of staff on each shift to ensure people’s needs were met. Risk to people had been assessed and where risks were identified, appropriate action plans were in place to prevent or minimise the risk. People's medicines were managed safely and people received their medicines as prescribed by healthcare professionals. There were arrangements in place for foreseeable emergencies and a refurbishment project was on-going to improve the quality of the environment for people.

Support was in place for staff in the form of induction, training and supervision to ensure they had appropriate skills and knowledge to perform the role which they had been employed to undertake. Both staff and the management team demonstrated a good understanding of the Mental Capacity Act and Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards. People were supported to have sufficient to eat and drink for their wellbeing. Where required, people had access to a range of healthcare professionals.

People’s privacy and dignity were maintained and their independence promoted. People were supported to keep relationships with their family and friends. Staff were knowledgeable about people's needs with regards to their disability, race, religion, sexual orientation and gender and supported people appropriately to meet their identified needs and wishes. People were provided appropriate information and were involved in their care planning and delivery.

Each person using the service had a care plan in place with appropriate guidance for staff on how to support them. People’s care plans were reviewed monthly or as required to ensure their changing needs were identified and met. There was a range of appropriate activities available for people to enjoy. People knew how to make a complaint if they were not happy about the quality of care delivery. At the time of our inspection, people and their relatives told us they did not have anything to complain about.

The provider had systems in place to monitor the quality of the service including surveys, residents and staff meetings. All staff we spoke with were happy working at the home and health and social care providers were complimentary about the care delivery.