Archived: Polars

We undertook this unannounced focused inspection on 1 September 2016 to check that they had followed their plan and to confirm that they now met legal requirements. This report only covers our findings in relation to those requirements. You can read the report from our last comprehensive inspection, by selecting the 'all reports' link for Polars on our website at www.cqc.org.uk

Polars is a residential care home for people requiring personal care. A maximum of 37 people can be accommodated and at the time of our inspection there were 29 people living in the home, some of whom had physical disabilities or were living with dementia. Care is provided over two floors, with two lifts providing access to the upper floors. On the ground floor there are several communal lounge areas, a hair salon, a dining room and a garden.

A registered manager was not in place at the time of the inspection, although the manager had applied to be registered with CQC and their application was being processed. 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.

Most people were protected appropriately from the risk of falling. Where people had fallen, staff took action to reduce the risk of recurrence. However, staff had not considered changes to improve the safety of the environment for a person who had fallen on multiple occasions, although the manager agreed to do this.

Where needed, staff monitored people’s blood sugar levels effectively and took positive action when the levels were too high or too low. This helped ensure people’s health was maintained.

People were cared for in a clean, hygienic environment. Infection control risks had been assessed. Staff had been suitably trained and followed appropriate procedures to reduce the risk and spread of infection. The laundry had been refurbished and new storage arrangements had been put in place to keep people’s topical creams safe and minimise the risk of cross infection.

At the time of the inspection there was no registered manager in place. A manager from one of the provider’s other homes was managing Polars on a temporary basis. The provider was in the process of recruiting a permanent manager who would then apply to be registered with CQC. 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.

At our last inspection, in November 2015, we told the provider to take action to make improvements in relation to the levels of staffing and the support staff received; the management of risks to people; infection control arrangements; the management of medicines; and quality assurance processes. We took enforcement action and required the provider to make improvements by 31 January 2016.

At this inspection we found improvements had been made, but the provider was still not meeting all fundamental standards of safety and quality and there was a lack of consistency in the management of the home.

Infection control arrangements were not adequate. The laundry was not clean and hygienic, although plans were in place to refurbish it; boxes used to store topical creams were not clean and posed a risk of cross contamination; and not all staff were aware of people with an infection that required additional precautions to be taken when supporting them.

People’s blood sugar levels were being monitored more regularly, but action was not always taken when they were found to be outside the normal range. One person was not supported to use their walking frame, which contributed to them falling. However, other risks to people were managed appropriately and without restricting people’s freedom.

People had mixed views about whether there were enough staff to support them in a timely way and the process used to calculate staffing levels was not robust.

Staff sought verbal consent from people before providing care and support. However, decisions made on behalf of people were not always recorded in accordance with legislation designed to protect people’s rights.

People received personalised care from staff who understood and met their needs well. However, information about the support they needed was not always available as care plans were being transferred to a computerised system.

People felt safe at Polars and staff knew how to protect people from the risk of abuse. Arrangements were in place to keep people safe in the event of fire. Medicines were managed safely and people received them when needed. Recruitment procedures helped ensure that only suitable staff were employed.

Staff were knowledgeable about the needs of people and how to care for them effectively. They received appropriate training and were supported in their work.

People had a choice of suitably nutritious food and were encouraged to drink often. They were supported to access healthcare services when needed and their relatives were kept up to date with any changes in their health.

Staff treated people with kindness and compassion and had built positive relationships with them. People’s privacy was protected and they were involved in planning the care and support they received.

People were supported to make day to day choices and were encouraged to remain as independent as possible. They had access to a wide range of activities tailored to their interests. The provider sought and acted on feedback from people and a suitable complaints procedure was in place.

The home had an open and transparent culture. Visitors were welcomed and the provider notified CQC of all significant events. Quality assurance systems had improved and had led to improvements being made. A development plan was in place to further improve the service.

We identified breaches of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014. You can see what action we have taken at the back of the full version of the report.

People said they were happy at Polars. One said 'we are looked after from morning to evening and then through the night'. Another said 'I can't fault the staff'. People told us they and their relatives were involved in planning their care.

Staff were familiar with spotting potential signs of abuse and they knew what to do if they suspected abuse was happening. We saw there were sufficient numbers of staff on duty to care for people. The provider had quality assurance systems in place and regularly audited records. They also sought and acted on the opinions of people who used the service, their friends and family and stakeholders.