Background to this inspection
Updated
9 November 2015
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.
The inspection took place on 04 August 2015 and was unannounced.
The inspection was carried out by two inspectors. We spoke with two people who lived at the home and carried out observations using the Short Observations Framework for Inspection (SOFI). When people have complex needs it is sometimes difficult for us to find out about their experiences using conventional methods of communication. The SOFI helps us to gain an understanding of people’s experiences by observing how they engage and interact with other people and their environment.
We looked at a variety of records which included three people’s care records, staff records and records relating to the day to day running of the home. We spoke with the registered manager, a nurse, a student nurse and the cleaner. We looked at the communal areas which included bath/shower rooms and at a random selection of people’s bedrooms.
As part of our inspection planning we reviewed the information we held about the home. This included information from the provider, notifications and speaking with the local authority contracts and safeguarding teams. Before our inspections we usually asked the provider to send us a Provider Information Return (PIR). This is a form that asks the provider to give some key information about the service, what the service does well and improvements they plan to make. On this occasion the PIR had been submitted several months prior to the inspection however, the registered manager confirmed the information they had provided remained relevant to the service.
Updated
9 November 2015
The inspection was unannounced and took place on the 04 August 2015. The last inspection was carried out in September 2013 and at that time the provider was meeting all the regulations assessed.
Cloughside is a care home with nursing which provides care and support to seven people living with learning disabilities and behaviours that challenge. The home is a spacious period property with secure gardens that provide a private leisure area for the people who live there.
The service had a registered manager. 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.
The environment was clean and safe but repairs and maintenance were not always dealt with as quickly as they should be. We judged this to be a breach of the regulations.
The home does not have any signage and there is nothing to direct people to the entrance, this combined with a high fence and locked gate does not create a favourable first impression of the service. This was not an accurate reflection of the service which we found to be open and welcoming.
People who lived at the home told us they felt safe. Staff were trained to recognise and report any allegations or suspicions of abuse. New staff did not start work until all the required checks had been carried out and this helped to protect people from the risk of being cared for and supported by staff who were unsuitable to work in a care setting.
There were enough staff to provide people with the support they needed. Staff were trained and supported to develop their skills and knowledge to enable them to provide people with appropriate support. We observed positive interactions between staff and people who lived at the home.
The provider was working in line with the requirements of the Mental Capacity Act and Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards and this helped to make sure people’s rights were protected.
People’s dietary needs and preferences were catered for and people were supported to choose healthy options. People were supported to meet their health care needs and had access to the full range of NHS services.
People were supported to make decisions about their day to day lives and their privacy and dignity was respected. Their care records included information about their individual needs and preferences and showed clearly what staff needed to do to make sure people received the right support.
There was a complaints procedure and people were given information about this.
People who lived in the home and their representatives were given the opportunity to share their views about the quality of the services provided.
The provider had systems in place to heck the quality of the services and there was evidence action was taken to deal with any shortfalls identified.
There were one breach of regulations and you can see the action we have asked the provider to take at the back of the full version of this report.