This was an announced inspection which took place on 27 January 2016. Castlewellan House provides accommodation with personal care for 18 people. Some people lived with conditions that related to old age whilst other people had dementia. At the time of this inspection 16 people were living at the home. When we last inspected the home in July 2013 the provider was compliant with the regulations we assessed.
There was a registered manager at the home. 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.
We received a high level of praise from people and their relatives in relation to this home. They were very complimentary about the quality of the care they received. We found the registered manager and staff were motivated and committed to providing a high standard of care to people.
People had no concerns about their safety, risks to their safety had been identified and staff had training in how to recognise abuse.
Staff were recruited in a safe way and had relevant training and support to enhance their skills in providing people with quality care. There were enough trained and experienced staff to support people and meet their needs in a personalised manner.
People had their medicines when they needed them but staff did not always follow safe procedures and there was a lack of written guidance for staff.
Care was focused on people’s individual needs and we saw this was effective in managing risks to their health such as falling or developing pressure sores.
Staff were aware of how to support people’s rights, seek their consent and respect their choices. We saw staff worked within the principles of The Mental Capacity Act 2005 (MCA) to ensure that the human rights of people who may lack capacity to make decisions are protected. We saw staff understood the Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS) to deprive someone of their liberty to ensure their safety.
People were happy with the meals offered and were supported to have the meals that they enjoyed. Drinks were offered throughout the day to prevent the risk of dehydration. People’s health was supported by access to appropriate health professionals.
We saw that staff were attentive and caring towards people. People described the staff as being friendly and kind. Relatives told us the staff were polite, patient and respectful towards people. People told us that they were happy living at the home. They knew how to raise any concerns if they needed to and we saw arrangements were in place to listen and act upon any concerns.
People enjoyed a range of activities which were tailored to meet their individual interests and encourage their independence.
People described the management of the home as very friendly and approachable. Staff felt supported by the provider who was also the registered manager and worked in the home daily. We found quality monitoring systems were in place to ensure people received a good standard of care. Some adjustments were needed to the medicines checks. The registered manager had kept their own knowledge and learning up to date which ensured they were aware of new initiatives to enhance the quality of care provided.