Bankfield Road

Updated 18 October 2018

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 08 and 13 August 2018 and was unannounced. The first day we visited the home and the second we made telephone calls to relatives of those people living in the home. The inspection team consisted of one adult social care inspector.

Before the inspection we reviewed information that we held about the service and the service provider. This included safeguarding and incident notifications which the provider had told us about. Statutory notifications are information the provider is legally required to send to us about significant events such as accidents, injuries and safeguarding notifications. Since the last inspection we had been liaising with the local authority and we considered this information as part of the planning process for this inspection. Positive feedback was shared by the local authority staff regarding their recent visits and quality checks to the service.

During our inspection we used a method called Short Observational Framework for Inspection (SOFI). This involved observing staff interactions with people in their care. SOFI is a specific way of observing care to help us understand the experience of people who may not be able to tell us.

We walked around the home and looked in communal areas the lounge/dining room, bathrooms, the kitchen, the laundry and a sample of the other rooms such as bedrooms and staff/office space.

During the day of inspection, we reviewed a variety of documents such as, policies and procedures relating to the delivery of care and the administration and management of the home and staff. This included two support files of people living at the home including their medicine administration records. We checked three staff personnel files for information to demonstrate safe recruitment practices, supervision and training were taking place.

We met with five of the six people living at the home, people were unable to speak with us but demonstrated their feeling using gestures, facial expression and behaviour. We spoke with two relatives, an area manager for the organisation, the manager of the home, the deputy, and three support staff.

Updated 18 October 2018

This inspection was carried out over two days on the, 08 and 13 August 2018. Our visit on the 08 August was unannounced and we held telephone discussions with family members on the second day.

Bankfield Road is a ‘care home’ for Adults with learning disabilities at the time of our visit six people were living in the home. People in care homes receive accommodation and nursing or personal care as single package under one contractual agreement.

CQC regulates both the premises and the care provided, and both were looked at during this inspection. At this inspection we found the evidence continued to support the rating of good and there was no evidence or information from our inspection and ongoing monitoring that demonstrated serious risks or concerns. This inspection report is written in a shorter format because our overall rating of the service has not changed since our last inspection. At the last inspection in August 2015 the service was rated Good. At this inspection we found the service remained Good.

Bankfield Road provides accommodation and personal care and support for up to six adults. The accommodation is provided on the ground floor of the premises only. Communal spaces including a lounge; dining room and two bathrooms. There is a car park provided for visitors and staff. The home is situated in a quiet residential area of Widnes, close to shops and amenities. At the time of our inspection six people were living at the service.

The home has a manager who has been registered with CQC since 2015. 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 registered provider had systems in place to monitor the quality of the service provided.

Staffing levels were in line with the dependency tool, however rotas need to be clearer to identify which staff are available to provide hands on care and support to make sure residents needs and activities can be met by those on duty.

Procedures were in place to identify risks and assessments clearly instructed staff how to manage the risks associated with providing support and daily living.

Policies and procedures and training were available to staff to minimise harm to those living in the home. Staff knew how to recognise and report the signs of abuse which helps to keep people safe.

People were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff support them in the least restrictive way possible; the policies and systems in the service support this practice.

People had access to healthcare services for example from the district nurse, optician, dietetic services, health screening and the GP and were supported to attend hospital appointments as required.

People were involved and supported to attend activities they enjoyed.

Further information is detailed in the findings below.