10 November 2016
During a routine inspection
There was a registered manager in post at the time of our inspection. 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 actively involved in decisions about their care and support needs; however, there was inconsistency in the approach taken to supporting those people who may lack the capacity to consent to their care. The systems in place to assess people’s capacity for decision making under the Mental Capacity Act were not consistently being followed. The registered manager was aware of this and had already started to take steps to address this at the time of the inspection.
People were supported to take their medicines as prescribed safely; the provider just needed to ensure that the method of recording the administration of medicines was consistent across the service.
People told us that they felt safe in their own home. Staff understood the need to protect people from harm and abuse and knew what action they should take if they had any concerns. Staffing levels ensured that people received the support they required at the times they needed. We observed that on the day of our inspection there were sufficient staff to meet the needs of the people they were supporting. The recruitment practice protected people from being cared for by staff that were unsuitable to work in their home.
Care records contained risk assessments to protect people from identified risks and help to keep them safe. They gave information for staff on the identified risk and informed staff on the measures to take to minimise any risks. People were supported to maintain good health and had access to healthcare services when needed.
Care plans were in place detailing how people wished to be supported and people were involved in making decisions about their support. People participated in a range of activities both in their own home and in the community and received the support they needed to help them do this.
Staff had good relationships with the people who they supported. Complaints were appropriately investigated and action was taken to make improvements to the service when this was found to be necessary. The registered manager was approachable and had systems in place to monitor the quality of the service provided. Staff and people were confident that issues would be addressed and that any concerns they had would be listened to.