Archived: Church View

During this visit we focused our attention on practices related to the specific concerns that had been raised with us.

We found that people were appropriately supported with their personal care needs.

Practices were in place to ensure each person who used the service was provided with a choice of food and meals and that these were provided to them in a timely manner.

Systems were in place for dealing with complaints and people told us they felt confident to approach the staff or manager if they had concerns and felt confident that these would be addressed.

Each of the people using the service had a care plan which provided a good description of the person's needs and how to meet these.

People told us that the choice, variety and quality of food and meals was good. We viewed a four week menu which provided people with a good choice of meals. We found that when people had lost weight they were referred for specialist advice and support in a timely manner.

People told us they were happy with the home environment and the quality of furnishings provided in their own rooms. We found systems were in place to make sure the environment was safe. The provider told us that a programme of refurbishment of the home was scheduled to start in the near future.

The staffing levels were sufficient to meet the needs of the people using the service. However, we saw that staff were very stretched in meeting people's needs and this impacted on some people's daily routine. Following our visit the provider told us they were increasing staffing levels with immediate effect.

People told us they would feel confident to raise a complaint if they had reason to. The manager informed us that there have been no complaints received about the service for over a year.

People gave us good feedback about their care and support. People's comments included; "I like it here they do a good job" and 'I've lived here a long time and it's a very good place'.

We also spoke with a number of visiting relatives. They gave us positive feedback about the home and said they felt the standard of care had been good.

Each of the people using the service had a care plan. The care plans we looked at were up to date and contained relevant information about the needs of the person. We found that where a need had been identified in a person's care plan then this was reflected in practice. We saw no evidence that people had been consulted with about their care plan or that they were in agreement with it.

People using the service and their relatives gave us good feedback about staff. However, people told us they felt staff were very busy. We found that people were spending time waiting to be supported to move from one area of the home to another. We also found during our visit that there was limited staff presence in communal lounge areas and limited interaction between staff and people living at the home.