20 September 2016
During a routine inspection
Mencap Flat 4 Aston Lodge Domiciliary Care Agency provides personal care to people in their own homes. In addition to the care provided at 4 Aston Lodge, care is also provided at two other local addresses Grove house and Winstre road. This inspection focused on concerns relating to 4 Aston Lodge. At the time of our inspection 9 people were receiving care at Grove and 3 people at Winstre road.
The home did not have a registered manager in post due to the departure of the registered manager four weeks before our inspection. However a new manager was in the process of registering with CQC. The outgoing registered manager had not yet deregistered with CQC. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission (CQC) 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.
There were sufficient numbers of suitable staff available at all times to meet people’s individual care and support needs. Safe and effective recruitment practices were followed to help ensure staff employed were suited to work in a care environment. Staff received training in how to protect people from abuse. Information from accidents and incidents was recorded and helped staff to reduce identified risks and help keep people safe. People received medicines by staff who had been trained and had their competency checked. There had been a number of medicines errors which had been identified and appropriate remedial action was taken to reduce the risk of a reoccurrence.
People were positive about the skills, experience and abilities of staff who worked at the home. Staff received induction and on-going training and refresher updates relevant to their roles as well as some specialist training relevant to the people they supported. Staff were well supported both through team meetings and one to one meetings with their line managers. People had regular access to a range health and social care professionals when necessary and were supported to eat a healthy balanced diet that met their individual requirements and choices.
We saw that staff obtained people’s consent and agreement before supporting them. We saw that staff were kind and caring in the way they treated people and were mindful of people’s dignity as well as preserving their privacy. We saw that staff had developed positive and caring relationships with the people they cared for. People could access advocacy services where appropriate which provided people with independent advice. People and their relatives were involved in the development and review of care when possible. People's information was securely maintained throughout the home.
People received personalised care and support that was responsive to their individual needs and took account of their preferences. Staff knew the people they looked after well and were knowledgeable about their background histories, preferences, routines and personal circumstances. People were supported to be involved and engaged with a range of activities and to pursue hobbies that were of interest to them.
Complaints, compliments and concerns were recorded and investigated thoroughly by the manager and these were used to support improvements and drive continual improvements.
People and staff were positive and complimentary about the management of the service and about how the home was run. There were systems and processes in place to monitor the quality of services provided. Where risks were identified appropriate actions were put in place to reduce and manage these effectively. Staff felt valued and enjoyed working at Grove House.