Background to this inspection
Updated
4 May 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.
This inspection was carried out by two inspectors on 3 March 2016 and was unannounced.
Before our inspection we looked at information we held about the service including statutory notifications. A notification is information about important events which the provider is required to tell us about by law.
As some people were not able to tell us in detail about their care, 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.
During this inspection we spoke with six of the 15 people who were living in the home. We also spoke with the operations manager, the cook, two domestic staff and four care staff, including the senior. We also spoke with a member of the local authority’s quality assurance team and a safeguarding officer before and after our inspection.
We looked at care records for seven people and a selection of medical and health related records.
On the day of our inspection visit we were unable to access the records for staff in respect of training, supervision, appraisals and recruitment. This was due to the absence of the registered manager and the operations manager. However, we did speak with staff about these areas. We were also only able to access a minimal selection of records that related to the management and day to day running of the service, although we did speak very briefly with the operations manager at the beginning of our visit.
Updated
4 May 2016
Shipbourne House is a residential home that provides care, support and accommodation for up to 24 older people. At the time of our inspection there were 15 people living in the home.
The home had a registered manager in post. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission (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 and associated Regulations about how the service is run.
Although staff worked hard to ensure people were kept safe, there were not always enough staff to support people in a timely manner and meet their needs appropriately. Identified risks to people’s safety were recorded on an individual basis and there was guidance for staff to be able to know how to support people safely and effectively.
Medicines were managed and administered safely in the home and people received their medicines as prescribed.
Staff were experienced and knowledgeable in their work and new members of staff were required to complete an appropriate induction. However, some training was out of date and staff did not feel supported by the registered manager or the operations manager.
The CQC is required to monitor the Mental Capacity Act (MCA) 2005 Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS) and report on what we find. The registered manager and senior staff ensured the service operated in accordance with the MCA and DoLS procedures and staff demonstrated a good understanding of the MCA, DoLS, capacity and consent.
People had enough to eat and drink and enjoyed their meals. When needed, people’s intake of food and drinks was monitored and recorded and prompt action and timely referrals were made to relevant healthcare professionals when any needs or concerns were identified.
Although staff in the home were caring and treated people with dignity and respect, there were not always enough staff to be consistently attentive to people’s emotional and social wellbeing requirements. Relatives were welcome to visit as and when they wished and people were encouraged and supported to be as independent as possible.
Assessments had been completed prior to admission, to ensure people’s needs could be met. People were involved in planning their care and received health care and support that was individual to their needs. Risk assessments detailed what action was required or had been carried out to remove or minimise any identified risks for people.
People living in the home, their families and staff did not currently feel able to voice their concerns or make a complaint if needed. They did not feel they were listened to, nor did they feel that appropriate responses and action were taken if concerns were raised directly with the management team.
The service was not currently being well run and communication between the management team and the staff was infrequent and ineffective. Although there were systems in place in order to ensure the quality of the service provided was monitored, the operations manager told us that these were not currently up to date and that a number of areas needed improvement.