Archived: Uplands Care Home

Updated 14 July 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.

This inspection took place on the 23 and 24 April 2015 and was unannounced. It was carried out by an inspector and a specialist professional advisor who had experience of care homes for older people.

Before the inspection we looked at records we held about the service, including notifications. We spoke with six people using the service, three relatives, the deputy manager, unit manager, three nurses, four carers and three domestic staff and the chef. We used the Short Observational Framework for Inspection (SOFI). SOFI is a way of observing care to help us understand the experience of people who could not talk with us.

We reviewed of 11 care records, looked at staff meeting minutes, staff rotas, training records, three staff records, 32 medicine records, 11 daily charts and records. We looked at other records related to the management of the home, including the maintenance records and the 2014 customer satisfaction survey. After the inspection we spoke with a health care from the local authority.

Updated 14 July 2015

The inspection took place on 24 and 25 April 2015 and was unannounced. At the time of the inspection there were 65 people using the service, who were older people some who had dementia.

There was a registered manager in post. 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 the last inspection on 20 May 2013 the service was meeting the regulations we inspected.

During this inspection we found two of breaches of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014.

People did not have adequate staff to ensure they were kept safe. The service was not hygienically clean and free from odour.

Staff were aware of the signs of abuse and what told us what actions they would take to manage an allegation of abuse. People had risk assessments and management plans in place to reduce the risk recurring.

People’s medicines were managed safely and administered in line with the prescriber’s directions.

The recruitment process used was robust; staff had support with training, supervision and appraisal to support them in their caring roles.

The registered manager was aware of their duties and responsibilities within the framework of the Mental Capacity Act (2005) and Deprivation of liberty Safeguards (DoLS). People or their relative were provided with information and support to enable them to consent to care and treatment.

People had meals which met their nutritional, health, cultural and religious needs.

People had their health care and support needs assessed when their care or health needs required this.

People were treated with dignity and respect by staff. People were cared for by staff that were skilled and had experience to carry out their nursing or caring roles and involved them in making decision about their care and how they wished to be cared for.

People had assessments and care plans which met their care and health needs which were routinely reviewed to reflect change in their care need. There was a system in place were people and their relatives could raise concerns or complaints that were managed appropriately.

The registered manager supports staff to provide a service for people which is fair, transparent and has an open culture. There is a registered manager in post who was aware of their responsibilities of their registration with the Care Quality Commission (CQC).

People and their relatives were encouraged to provide feedback about the quality of care formally and informally. The registered manager regularly assessed and monitored the service and developed an action plan where necessary to improve the quality of care people received.

You can see what action we told the provider to take at the back of the full version of the report.