Archived: Plantation View

Plantation View 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. Plantation View is a purpose built care home situated in the Cantley area of Doncaster. The home accommodates up to 27 older people that require assistance with their personal care needs. On the day of our inspection there were 26 people living in the home.

There was a registered manager in place for the service. A registered manager is a person who has registered with 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.

We last carried out an unannounced comprehensive inspection of this service on 4 April 2016. At that inspection the home was rated as Good. You can read the report from our last comprehensive inspection, by selecting the 'all reports' link for Plantation View on our website at www.cqc.org.uk.

At this inspection we found the service remained Good. However we have rated the ‘Safe’ domain as ‘Requires Improvement’. This was because we found staffing levels were not always sufficient to ensure people were supervised, had their privacy and dignity maintained and were provided with a programme of social activity. We found people’s care needs were met in a timely way, but this meant staff were very busy carrying out care tasks so they had very little time to socialise and spend quality time with individual people.

Risks to people were routinely assessed with clear plans to keep people safe. Where incidents had occurred, staff responded appropriately and the registered provider analysed incidents so that further occurrences could be prevented. Staff understood their roles in safeguarding people from abuse.

People's medicines were managed and administered safely. The registered provider had carried out appropriate checks on staff to ensure that they were suitable for their roles.

People were supported to access the healthcare they needed and staff worked alongside relevant agencies to meet people's health needs. People received a thorough assessment before going to live at the home and individual needs and choices were documented and met.

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 support this practice.

People told us they enjoyed the food and it met their dietary needs. People were supported by staff that had received appropriate training to carry out their roles with confidence. People were supported by kind and caring staff that they got on well with.

There was no activity worker which meant people only had access to a very limited range of social activities. People's wishes regarding end of life care were documented.

People were informed about how to raise a complaint and the registered provider regularly asked people for feedback. Regular audits were undertaken to measure the quality of the care that people received. There was clear leadership at the home and staff told us they felt supported by the management team.

The service has a manager who has been registered with the Care Quality Commission since January 2011. 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.

Plantation View is a care home situated in Cantley, Doncaster which is registered to accommodate up to 27 people. The service is provided by Runwood Homes Limited. At the time of the inspection the home was providing residential care for 24 people. People living at the home had been diagnosed with a dementia type illness. The service has several communal and dining areas and easily accessible secure gardens. The home is close to local amenities of shops and healthcare facilities.

CQC is required by law to monitor the operation of the Mental Capacity Act (MCA) 2005 Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS), and to report on what we find. The members of the management team and nurses we spoke with had a full and up to date understanding of the Mental Capacity Act (MCA) 2005 and Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS). These safeguards protect the rights of adults by ensuring that if there are restrictions on their freedom and liberty these are assessed by appropriately trained professionals. We found that appropriate DoLS applications had been made, and staff were acting in accordance with DoLS authorisations.

The environment could be improved to make it more dementia friendly. We have recommended that the provider finds out more information based on current best practice, in relation to the specialist needs of people living with dementia. In particular about the environment including, signage in the dining area in relation to meals, flooring and the use of contrasting colours on the corridors.

People’s physical health was monitored as required. This included the monitoring of people’s health conditions and symptoms so appropriate referrals to health professionals could be made. For example, we saw evidence that the home regularly makes contact with district nurses, community nurses for mental health issues, and peoples own doctors. Other health professionals such as dieticians, dentists, occupational therapists and opticians were also requested as needed.

Our observation of part of two medication rounds, together with our review of records provided evidence that medicines were safely stored and administered.

There were robust recruitment procedures in place. On the day of our inspection there were sufficient staff with the right skills and competencies to meet the assessed needs of people living in the home. However two relatives we spoke with raised concerns about the staffing levels on particular days that they had visited. Staff told us they felt supported by the management team, and they confirmed that they had received formal supervisions and appraisals of their work.

Staff were aware of people’s nutritional needs and made sure they supported people to have a healthy diet, with choices of a good variety of food and drink. People we spoke with told us they enjoyed the meals and there was always something on the menu they liked. We observed people being offered a second helping of the main course during lunch. Snacks of fruit, cakes, biscuits and drinks were also available for people throughout the day.

People were able to access activities. We spoke to the activity co-ordinator about forthcoming events which included a celebration of the Queens 90th birthday.

Staff and relatives we spoke with were positive about the registered manager and the way in which she led the service. They told us that the registered manager was always around and was approachable and proactive in trying to make the service as good as possible. The registered manager had clear goals for the service and spoke about future developments for the home.

Staff told us they felt supported and they could raise any concerns with the registered manager and felt that they were listened to. Relatives told us they were aware of the complaints procedure and said staff would assist them if they needed to use it. We noted from the records that two formal complaints had been received. The investigations were on-going and the regional care director was involved in meetings with the complainants.

There were systems in place to monitor and improve the quality of the service provided. We saw copies of reports produced by the registered manager. The reports included any actions required and these were checked each month to determine progress.