Archived: The Mount Care Home

Updated 18 October 2017

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 was a comprehensive inspection which took place on 6 and 7 September 2017 and was unannounced on the first day. The inspection was carried out by one inspector and an Expert by Experience. An expert by experience is a person who has personal experience of using or caring for someone who uses this type of care service. The expert who attended this inspection was experienced in caring for older people and had personal knowledge of using services.

Before the inspection we reviewed the information we held about the service which included notifications they had sent us. Notifications are sent to the Care Quality Commission to inform us of events relating to the service which they must inform us of by law. We looked at previous inspection reports and contacted community professionals, commissioners and the local authority safeguarding team for feedback.

We reviewed the Provider Information Return.This is a form that asks the provider to give some key information about the service, what the service does well and improvements they plan to make. 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 the inspection we spoke with eight people who live at the service and four visitors. We also spoke with the registered manager, the deputy manager, a registered nurse, five care staff, the life enrichment co-ordinator, a cook, the maintenance team and the administrator. We looked at records relating to the management of the service including five people’s care plans and associated records including medicines administration sheets. We looked at eight staff files including staff training and recruitment records. We reviewed a selection of compliments and the complaints log as well as the accident/incident records. Documentation relating to the maintenance and safety of the premises was also inspected.

Updated 18 October 2017

The Mount Care Home is a residential care home providing care and accommodation with nursing for up to 37 people. At the time of the inspection there were 34 people living at the service.

There was a registered manager in the home. 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.

At the last inspection the service was rated Good in all five domains. At this inspection we found the service had strengthened their practice in Responsive and is therefore now rated outstanding in this areas. Safe, Effective, Caring and Well-led domains remain rated as Good. The service is rated Good overall.

This was a comprehensive inspection carried out on 6 and 7 September 2017. It was unannounced on the first day and announced on the second.

People were safe at The Mount Care Home. They were protected from harm and abuse by staff who had been trained and had knowledge of how to safeguard people. Staff understood their responsibilities to report and act on issues if they arose. Individual risks and those related to the environment were assessed, managed and reviewed to keep people safe. There were sufficient staff who had been recruited using effective procedures to ensure their suitability. Medicines were managed and administered safely. Routine health and safety checks were completed in accordance with legislation and guidance.

People received effective support. Staff were trained in areas relevant to their job role and their skills were assessed and monitored. They were supported by the management to develop and gain appropriate qualifications with an emphasis on improving the service for people. Staff told us the opportunities to enhance their skills had created a sense of commitment and they felt valued.

Staff were supported and received regular supervision and appraisal of their work. The service met the requirements of the Mental Capacity Act 2005 and the associated Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards. Consent to care and support was sought in line with legislation and guidance. People were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff supported them in the least restrictive way possible; the policies and systems in the service supported this practice.

A flexible approach to meals ensured people maintained a healthy weight. Where concerns had arisen relating to people’s nutrition, professional advice had been sought and acted on.

People’s psychological wellbeing was monitored carefully and specific care plans were developed when required to facilitate improvements and improve their quality of life. Attention had been paid to following national guidance in making the service as suitable as possible for people living with dementia. Staff paid attention to detail and understood the effect the environment had on people.

Staff were caring and knew people’s individual needs very well. People were comfortable and relaxed with staff, demonstrating that trusting relationships had been established. Relatives praised the care provided. People were respected and shown compassion by the staff supporting them. Privacy and dignity were maintained and people were encouraged to be as independent as they could or wished to be. People were enabled to have dignified and pain free end of life care and relatives were supported at this difficult time.

The service was extremely responsive. People’s care plans were comprehensive and provided detailed guidance to staff on how to meet their personal preferences and routines. The provider and registered manager had introduced a number of innovative ideas to provide responsive care. These included ‘Our Organisation Makes People Happy’ which promoted the enhancement of the mental, physical and emotional wellbeing of people. The life enrichment team enthusiastically embraced the development of new ideas and spoke passionately about initiatives such as ‘Ladder to the Moon’ which provided creative approaches to person centred activities.

A full and varied programme of activities was provided and took into account people’s life history, their interests and focused on enjoyment, fun and humour. Many of the activities were captured by photograph to share with relatives and promote further conversation and engagement.

The registered manager received praise and positive feedback from people and their relatives. We found an open and positive culture in the service and the staff team was supported to bring forward suggestions to better the service. There was a strong emphasis on team working and staff confirmed they worked well together. Standards of care were high as a result of the example set by the registered manager and the deputy. They had high expectations which staff were aware of and committed to achieving. The staff took pride in achieving positive outcomes for people. There were strong links built with the community which benefitted people. The provider valued and developed staff. They involved people in contributing to all aspects of the service and sought views and feedback in order to improve and develop.