Archived: Elm House

Updated 7 July 2015

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 was 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 20 February 2015 and was unannounced.

The inspection team consisted of an 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. Our expert had experience of caring for someone who had a learning disability.

We reviewed the information we held about the service. We looked at information received from the public, from the local authority commissioners and the statutory notifications the registered manager had sent us. A statutory notification is information about important events which the provider is required to send to us by law. Commissioners are people who work to find appropriate care and support services which are paid for by the local authority.

The provider had completed a Provider Information Return (PIR) prior to the inspection. 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 this information to formulate our inspection plan.

We spoke with five people who used the service, three members of care staff, and the manager. We did this to gain people’s views about the care and to check that standards of care were being met.

We spent time observing care in communal areas and we observed how the staff interacted with people who used the service.

We looked at two people’s care records to see if their records were accurate and up to date. We also looked at medicines records and those relating to the management of the service. These included quality checks, staff rotas, training records and recruitment records.

Updated 7 July 2015

The inspection took place on 20 February 2015 and was unannounced.

Our last inspection took place on 19 September 2014. During that inspection a number of concerns were identified. We told the provider that improvements were required to ensure people received care that was safe. At this inspection we found that the required improvements had been made.

Elm House provides personal care and accommodation to eight people who have a learning disability and complex care needs. There were seven male users of the service in residence at the time of the inspection.

The manager for the service was in the process of applying to register with us. 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 protected from avoidable harm because risks to people’s health and wellbeing were well managed, and the staff had the knowledge and skills to keep people safe. People’s medicines were store and managed safely.

There were sufficient numbers of staff to meet people’s needs and keep people safe. Staff were properly recruited and received training that provided them with the knowledge and skills to meet people’s needs effectively.

Staff sought people’s consent before they provided care and support. When people did not have the ability to make decisions about their care, the legal requirements of the Mental Capacity Act 2005 were followed. But there had been a failure to recognise an unlawful restriction and request an authorisation under Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS) processes. These requirements ensure that where appropriate, decisions are made in people’s best interests when they are unable to do this for themselves.

People were supported to access food and drink of their choice, and their independence was promoted. Advice from health and social care professionals was sought when required and people’s health and wellbeing needs were monitored.

Staff treated people with kindness and their dignity and privacy was promoted. People were encouraged to make choices about their care and the staff respected the choices people made.

People were involved in the planning of the care, it was delivered in accordance with their care preferences. They were supported to be independent. People could participate in leisure and social based activities as they chose.

People’s feedback was sought and used to improve the care. People knew how to make a complaint and complaints were managed in accordance with the provider’s complaints policy.

There was a positive atmosphere within the home and the manager and provider regularly assessed and monitored the quality of care to ensure standards were met and maintained.