Background to this inspection
Updated
4 January 2016
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 inspection took place on 20 and 21 October 2015 and was unannounced. The inspection team consisted of two inspectors and a specialist nursing advisor with experience of dementia care.
Prior to our inspection we reviewed information we held about the service. This included information received and statutory notifications. A notification is information about important events which the provider is required to send us by law.
We also contacted the commissioners of the service and Healthwatch Nottingham to obtain their views about the care provided in the home.
During the inspection we observed care and spoke with three relatives, an activities coordinator, four care staff, a nurse, the deputy manager, the acting manager and another senior manager.
We looked at the relevant parts of the care records of five people, three staff files and other records relating to the management of the home.
We were unable to obtain the direct views of people who used the service due to their complex needs. We used the Short Observational Framework for Inspection (SOFI). SOFI is a way of observing care to help us understand the experience of people who could not talk with us.
Updated
4 January 2016
This inspection took place on 20 and 21 October 2015 and was unannounced.
Accommodation for up to 40 people is provided in the home over two floors. The service is designed to meet the needs of older people. There were 26 people using the service at the time of our inspection.
At the previous inspection on 17 and 18 December 2014, we asked the provider to take action to make improvements to the areas of person-centred care, good governance and safeguarding service users from abuse and improper treatment. We received an action plan in which the provider told us the actions they had taken to meet the relevant legal requirements. At this inspection we found that improvements had been made in all of these areas.
There was no registered manager currently in place. The previous registered manager had left the previous month and a senior manager was acting as manager pending a permanent appointment being made. The senior manager was available during the 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 felt safe in the home and staff knew how to identify potential signs of abuse. Systems were in place for staff to identify and manage risks and respond to accidents and incidents. The premises were managed to keep people safe. Sufficient staff were on duty to meet people’s needs and they were recruited through safe recruitment practices. Safe medicines practices were followed.
Staff received appropriate induction, training, supervision and appraisal. People’s rights were protected under the Mental Capacity Act 2005. People received sufficient to eat and drink. External professionals were involved in people’s care as appropriate. People’s needs were met by the adaptation, design and decoration of the service.
Staff were caring and treated people with dignity and respect. People and their relatives were involved in decisions about their care.
People received personalised care that was responsive to their needs. Care records contained information to support staff to meet people’s individual needs. A complaints process was in place and staff knew how to respond to complaints.
People and their relatives were involved or had opportunities to be involved in the development of the service. Staff told us they would be confident raising any concerns with the management and that management would take action. There were systems in place to monitor and improve the quality of the service provided.