Archived: Glyn Thomas House

At the time of the inspection 10 people were living at the service.

There was a registered manager in post. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the CQC to manage the service. Like registered providers, they are ‘registered persons’. Registered persons have a legal responsibility for meeting the requirements in the Health and Social Care Act 2008 and associated Regulations about how the service is run.

At the last inspection in August 2016 we found the care plans did not reflect people’s needs fully and the service was not audited effectively to make sure it was run safely. The registered provider was found to be in breach of Regulation 9 (Person centred care) and Regulation 17 (Good governance) of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014. Following our last inspection the registered provider sent us information, in the form of an action plan, which detailed the action they would take to make improvements at the service.

At this inspection we found the team had worked collaboratively to ensure all of the previous breaches of regulation were addressed.

People were cared of by staff who understood the importance of making sure they were safe and protected from harm. The staff had received training in how to identify abuse and how to report this to the proper authorities. Staff, who had been recruited safely, were provided in enough number to meet the needs of the people who used the service. The service was clean and free from odours.

Staff received mandatory training in a number of areas, which assisted them to support people effectively, and were supported with regular supervisions and appraisals. People’s rights under the Mental Capacity Act 2005 and Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS) were protected.

People were supported to maintain a healthy diet and to access external professionals to monitor and promote their health. People were provided with a varied and wholesome diet; staff monitored this and called health care professionals if there were any problems. People were supported to access their GP.

The registered provider had an accessible complaints procedure and this was displayed around the service. Complaints were investigated wherever possible to the complainant’s satisfaction and people were signposted to other agencies if needed. People had a range of activities they could choose from and staff supported people to access the local community.

Systems were in place which ensured the service was run safely. People’s views were sought and those who had an interest in people’s welfare were also consulted about the service.

There was a registered manager in post who also had responsibilities for managing another care service for the registered provider. 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.

We undertook this unannounced inspection on the 10 and 12 August 2016. The service was registered and opened in April 2016 and at the time of the inspection there were a total of nine people living in Glyn Thomas House.

We found not everyone had a full and up to date care plan and risk assessment to guide staff in how to meet the person’s needs in a person-centred way. You can see what action we have asked the registered provider to take at the back of the full version of the report.

The quality and safety of the service had not been monitored effectively and shortfalls had not been dealt with consistently or had not been identified. You can see what action we have asked the registered provider to take at the back of the full version of the report.

We found there was an inconsistency regarding the application of the Mental Capacity Act 2005. The registered provider and registered manager had not always followed best practice regarding assessing people’s capacity and discussing and recording decisions made in their best interests. We have made a recommendation about this.

We found people’s health care needs were met. Health professionals were contacted to ensure people received treatment and advice when required. People received their medicines as prescribed. Formal monitoring systems to support people to self- administer their medicines safely were being addressed by the registered manager.

We found people who used the service were protected from the risk of harm and abuse. Staff had received safeguarding training and knew what to do if they witnessed abuse or if it was disclosed to them. Staff knew what to do in cases of emergencies and each person who used the service had a personal evacuation plan.

We observed kind and caring approaches from the staff team. People’s privacy and dignity were respected and staff provided people with explanations and information so they could make choices about aspects of their lives. There were positive comments from relatives about the staff team.

People enjoyed the meals provided to them. The menus enabled people to have choice and special diets when required. We saw people’s weight, their nutritional intake and their ability to eat and drink safely was monitored and referrals to dieticians and speech and language therapists took place when required for treatment and advice. During the day, we observed people were served drinks and snacks between meals.

We saw people were encouraged to participate in a range of activities and to maintain their independence where possible. Relatives told us they could visit at any time and we saw staff supported people who used the service to maintain relationships with their family.

We found staff were recruited safely with appropriate employment checks carried out to ensure staff were suitable to work in care settings. New staff received an induction and all staff had access to training, supervision and support to ensure they felt confident when supporting people who used the service. We found there were sufficient staff on duty.