The Vale Residential Care Home

Updated 13 February 2018

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 took place on 11 January 2018 and was unannounced.

The inspection team consisted of two inspectors 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-by-experience for this inspection had experience in care for older people.

The manager had completed a Provider Information Return (PIR). This is a form that asks them to give some key information about the service, what they do well and improvements they plan to make. We looked at other information we held about the service. This included previous inspection reports and notifications. Notifications are changes, events or incidents that the service must inform us about.

During the inspection we observed the support that people received in the communal lounge and dining areas of the service. As part of the inspection we spoke with the manager, the Director of Care and Operations, one senior support worker, two care staff and the activities co-ordinator. We spoke with 15 people using the service and three relatives to gain their feedback on the service they received. We asked two commissioners for their feedback of the service.

We reviewed a range of records. This included five people’s care plans and records including care planning documentation, risk assessments, nutrition and hydration information and medicine records. We looked at documentation that related to staff management and staff recruitment, including four staff files. We also looked at records concerning the monitoring, safety and quality of the service.

Updated 13 February 2018

This comprehensive inspection took place on the 11 January 2018 and was unannounced.

The Vale Residential Care Home is a ‘care home’. People in care homes receive accommodation and nursing or personal care as single package under one contractual agreement. CQC regulates both the premises and the care provided, and both were looked at during this inspection. The Vale Residential Care Home provides care and accommodation to a maximum of 28 people. There were 24 people living at the service at the time of our inspection, some of which were living with dementia.

At the last inspection, the service was rated Good. At this inspection, we found the service remained Good.

Why the service is rated Good.

At the time of our inspection there was a manager at the service who had applied to become registered with the Care Quality Commission. 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 are supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff support them in the least restrictive way possible; the policies and systems in the service support this practice.

There continued to be arrangements in place to keep people safe and to help safeguard people from the risk of abuse. Staff understood their responsibilities for safeguarding people from harm and followed the provider’s policy and procedure. Potential risks associated with people, the environment and equipment had been identified and managed.

People continued to receive their medicines safely. There were systems in place to ensure that medicines had been stored, administered, audited and reviewed regularly. People were protected by the prevention and control of infection where possible. Accidents and incidents were monitored and recorded.

People’s needs and choices continued to be assessed when they started using the service. People received care that was personalised to their needs. People were supported to take part in meaningful activities which they enjoyed. People were encouraged to raise concerns or complaints and were asked for feedback about the service they received.

People continued to have access to food that they enjoyed and were able to access drinks and snacks throughout the day. People’s nutrition and hydration needs had been assessed and recorded. Staff and the kitchen team met people’s specific dietary needs and support. Staff ensured people remained as healthy as possible with support from health care professionals, if required.

Staff were seen to be kind and caring towards people. People and their relatives were involved with making decisions about care and support. People were treated with privacy and dignity.

There continued to be enough staff on duty with the right skills to meet people’s needs. Staff received the training and support that they needed to carry out their responsibilities in delivering care and support that was effective and responsive. Recruitment practices were safe and checks were carried out to make sure staff were suitable to work with people who needed care and support.

People and others were encouraged to express their views and had completed surveys. Systems were in place to monitor the quality of the service being provided to people. They were a range of checks and audits carried out to ensure the safety and quality of the service that was provided to people.

Further information is in the detailed findings below