Archived: Cornerways Residential Home

Updated 20 December 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 unannounced inspection took place on 29 November 2016. We returned on 30 November 2016 to complete the inspection.

The inspection team consisted of one adult social care inspector.

Prior to the inspection we reviewed the Provider Information Record (PIR) and previous inspection reports. The PIR 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 also reviewed the information we held about the service and notifications we had received. A notification is information about important events which the service is required to send us by law.

We spoke with three people receiving a service and seven members of staff, which included the registered manager. We also spoke to three relatives. We spent time talking with people and observing the interactions between them and staff.

We reviewed three people’s care files, three staff files, staff training records and a selection of policies, procedures and records relating to the management of the service. After our visit we sought feedback from health and social care professionals to obtain their views of the service provided to people. We did not receive any feedback from professionals.

Updated 20 December 2016

This unannounced inspection took place on 29 November 2016. We returned on 30 November 2016 to complete the inspection. At our last inspection in June 2013 we found the service was meeting the regulations of the Health and Social Care Act (2008) we inspected.

Cornerways is a care home providing accommodation and personal care for a maximum of three adults with physical and communication difficulties. Their health care needs are met through the community health care services. At the time of our inspection there were three people living at Cornerways.

There was a registered manager in 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 were safe and staff demonstrated a good understanding of what constituted abuse and how to report if concerns were raised. Measures to manage risk were as least restrictive as possible to protect people’s freedom. People’s rights were protected because the service followed the appropriate legal processes. Medicines were safely managed on people’s behalf. However, where people had received their medicines, at times staff had not signed the medicines record to demonstrate administration. The registered manager recognised that medicines audits needed to be improved and agreed to improve the system.

Care files were personalised to reflect people’s personal preferences. Their views and suggestions were taken into account to improve the service. People were supported to maintain a balanced diet, which they enjoyed. Health and social care professionals were regularly involved in people’s care to ensure they received the care and treatment which was right for them.

Staff relationships with people were caring and supportive. Staff were motivated and inspired to offer care that was kind and compassionate. People engaged in a wide variety of activities and spent time in the local community going to specific places of interest.

There were effective staff recruitment and selection processes in place. Staffing arrangements were flexible in order to meet people’s individual needs. Staff received a range of training and regular support to keep their skills up to date in order to support people appropriately.

Staff spoke positively about communication and how the registered manager worked well with them and encouraged their professional development.

Methods were used to assess the quality and safety of the service people received and make continuous improvements.