Archived: Durham Care Home

The last inspection of the service was completed in July 2013 and was complaint with all of the regulations we inspected at that time.

The service has a registered manager. 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 2008 and associated Regulations about how the service is run.

People who used the service were protected from abuse and avoidable harm by staff who had been trained to recognise the signs of potential abuse and knew what actions to take if they suspected abuse had occurred. Staff who had been recruited safely were deployed in suitable numbers to meet the assessed needs of the people who used the service. People’s medicines were stored safely and administered as prescribed.

People were supported by staff who had been trained to carry out their roles effectively; they had the skills and abilities to communicate with the people who used the service. Consent was gained before care and support was delivered and the principles of the Mental Capacity Act were followed within the service. People were supported to eat a balanced diet of their choosing. When concerns were identified relevant professionals were contacted for their advice and guidance.

People were supported by kind and caring staff who knew their preferences for how care and support should be delivered. We observed staff supporting people with kindness and compassions during our inspection. People’s privacy and dignity was respected by staff who understood the need to treat sensitive information confidentially.

People were involved with the initial and on-going planning of their care. Their levels of independence and individual strengths and abilities were recorded. People were encouraged to maintain relationships with important people in their lives and to follow their hobbies and interests. The registered provider had a complaints policy which was made available to people who used the service. When complaints were received they were used to develop the service possible as required.

People who used the service and staff told us the registered manager was approachable and supportive. A quality assurance system was in place to ensure shortfalls in care, treatment and support were identified. However, we saw that accidents and incidents were not collated to enable themes and trends to be identified. People who used the service or their appointed representatives were not asked for there views on the service and therefore could not be used to improve the service as required.

We saw that information was available for staff to follow to ensure people received care which met their needs. There was also information about how to keep people safe. People told us they were happy with the care they received one person said, 'The staff are very kind and caring' and 'I am quite happy here.'

We found that people's medication was administered and stored safely and staff had received medication training. We saw that this was updated on regular basis.

We found there were enough staff on duty to meet people's needs, one person told us 'There always seems to plenty of staff on duty.' Staff told us they never felt rushed and had time to spend with people talking and doing activities.

We found that people were consulted about how the home was run but there was no formal system of reporting people's views.