Archived: Carrington House Care Home

Updated 15 December 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 is 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 unannounced inspection took place on 14 and 29 October 2015. The inspection team consisted of two inspectors 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.

Prior to our inspection we reviewed information we held about the service. This included previous inspection reports, information received and statutory notifications. A notification is information about important events and the provider is required to send us this by law. We contacted commissioners (who fund the care for some people) of the service and asked them for their views.

During the inspection we spoke with 11 people who were living at the service and two relatives who were visiting their relations. We spoke with four members of staff, the registered manager and the provider. We observed care and support in communal areas. We looked at the care records of four people who used the service, two staff files, as well as a range of records relating to the running of the service, which included audits carried out by the manager and provider.

We used the Short Observational Framework for inspection (SOFI). SOFI is a way of observing car to help us understand the experience of people who could not talk with us.

Updated 15 December 2015

We inspected the service on 14 October and 29 October 2015. Carrington House Care Home is registered to provide accommodation for up to 27 older people. The service is situated over three floors with a small shaft lift for access to the upper floors. On the day of our inspection 22 people were using the service.

A new manager was in place at the service. The new manager confirmed that they had applied to become the registered manager and we received confirmation that their application had been successful following 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 and associated Regulations about how the service is run.

At the last inspection on 19 November 2014, we asked the provider to take action to ensure people were protected against the risks of receiving care that was unsafe. This was because we found that the procedures in place to ensure that a person received their diet and medicines in an appropriate form were not effectively managed. This placed the person at risk.

On this inspection we found that procedures had improved but the provider was still not fully effective in managing risks to people. We found that some people’s care plans did not contain the required information as to how risks to people could be reduced or staff were not always following guidance on how to keep people safe.

People were protected from the risk of abuse and staff had a good understanding of their roles and responsibilities if they suspected abuse was happening. Staffing levels were sufficient to support people’s needs and people received care and support when required.

We found that people received their medicines as prescribed but the management of medicines required further improvement.

People were supported to make their own decisions where they were able. For people who lacked capacity to make their own decisions, capacity assessments were in place for some decisions but not for others. Applications had been made to ensure that people were not deprived of their liberty without the required authorisation.

People were supported to eat and drink enough, however there was a lack of care plans to ensure that people had their nutritional needs properly assessed. Referrals were made to health care professionals for additional support or guidance when needed.

People were treated in a caring and respectful manner and staff delivered support in a friendly and supportive manner. People who used the service and their relatives knew who to speak with if they had concerns and were confident that these would be responded to.

The views of people who used the service were sought in monitoring the quality of service provision. Regular audits were undertaken within the service and action taken where required.