Archived: Avon Park Residential Home

Avon Park Residential Home is a care home. People in care homes receive accommodation and personal care. CQC regulates both the premises and the care provided, and both were looked at during this inspection. At the time of the inspection there were 28 people aged 65 living at the home.

The service had a manager who is registered with the Care Quality Commission. This means that they and the provider are legally responsible for how the service is run and for the quality and safety of the care provided.

What life is like for people using this service:

• People received a safe service and were very complimentary of the care workers and management team.

• Relatives and health professionals expressed confidence in the management team and felt the service was very well led.

• The staff received safeguarding vulnerable adults training and knew how to report any concerns they had about a person’s safety.

• People were provided with a person-centred service and told us this was delivered to their expectations. They were involved in making decisions about how they were looked after and the staff took account of their preferences and any choices they made.

•The staff team received training to enable them to carry out their jobs well and were well supported by the management team.

• The service was staffed with sufficient levels of trained staff who were themselves supported with a robust system of regular supervision and annual appraisals. Staff felt very well supported and commented positively on the training they received.

• The service worked collaboratively and closely with health care professionals to ensure people received the best care and support at all times.

• People had detailed, individual risk assessments completed which ensured they were supported to live their lives as independently as possible while minimising any identified risks.

• People were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and supported in the least restrictive way possible, whilst maintaining a level of independence.

• People were supported to access the community where possible and there was a full programme of activities provided in the home.

• People’s privacy was protected and they were treated with dignity and respect by a caring staff team who showed people kindness and compassion.

• People’s medicines were being managed safely, stored securely and administered by trained staff.

• People and their relatives were fully involved in assessing and planning the care and support they received.

• People and relatives knew how to make a complaint and felt confident they would be listened to if they needed to raise any concerns.

More information about this inspection is available in the detailed findings sections of the full report.

Rating at last inspection:

When the service was last fully inspected we rated the service as Good (reported published 14 September 2016).

Why we inspected:

This was a planned inspection based on the rating at the last inspection. The service has remained rated Good overall.

Follow up:

We will continue to monitor intelligence we receive about the service until the next inspection. If any concerning information is received we may inspect sooner.

Avon Park Residential Home is a modern purpose built privately owned care home for older people. They are registered to provide care for up to 30 people. At the time of the inspection there were 26 people living at the service.

The home had a registered manager in place. 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.

Staff had a good understanding of abuse and how to identify this. They knew what actions to take to keep people safe. There were processes to minimise risks to people's safety. These included procedures to manage identified risks with people's care and for managing people's medicines safely.

There were sufficient numbers of suitably trained care staff to meet people's needs. Recruitment processes included a number of checks to make sure staff were suitable to work with people who used the service. New staff completed a thorough induction programme when they started work. Staff received training and had regular supervision and appraisal meetings in which their performance and development was discussed.

The registered manager understood their responsibilities in relation to the Mental Capacity Act (MCA) and Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS). Staff respected people's decisions and gained people's consent before they provided personal care.

Medicines were stored and secured appropriately. People told us that they received their medicines on time.

People were encouraged to eat a varied diet that took account of their preferences and dietary needs. Where necessary, specialist diets were catered for and people were supported to eat. People were supported effectively with their health needs and had access to a range of healthcare professionals.

People were looked after by kind and caring staff who knew them well. They were supported to express their views and to be involved in all aspects of their care. People were treated with dignity and respect.

People living at the home all thought that the home was well-led. They all spoke positively about the registered manager and the staff group.

There were a number of quality audits in place to assist the provider in assessing and reviewing the delivery of care in the home.

One person told us: "The staff have been marvellous and always ask me before doing anything with me. I have been involved in all the decisions about my care and they have listened to me." We saw all people who could give consent had this recorded in their care files. Where people were unable to give consent we saw best interest reviews were held.

Staff told us they enjoyed working in the service and they felt the service was well staffed. We saw the staff rotas were providing effective levels of staffing. The manager and staff informed us they always covered vacant shifts by use of regular staff carrying out extra hours.

We observed two staff administering medicines and saw this was done safely and appropriately. The service had effective systems for ordering, storage and monitoring of medicines.

We found the service sought the opinions of people who used the service and provided them with the opportunity to make comments. Comments were listened to and positive actions were taken in response to them.

We spoke with one visiting relation who was very happy with individual care and their relative's particular requirements were taken care of. They told us staff were very approachable and they had confidence they would deal properly if problems arose They told us that their relative was safe and well looked after ' they had looked at several homes before choosing this one.

We found that people who used the service were treated with dignity and respect and they were involved in all aspects of their care planning and its delivery. Assessments and care plans identified peoples individual care needs and ensured people received appropriate care and risks were minimised where possible. People were cared for by staff who were well informed about what constituted abuse and how to report any concerns. Regular quality assurance monitoring took place and covered services people received and the home's environment.