About the service: Albany House is a mental health nursing home registered to provide accommodation with nursing and personal care for up to eight people who have mental health illness. A total of eight people lived at the service however one person was in hospital at the time of our inspection visit. The service specialises in providing 'aftercare services'; the care and support of people who have been detained under the Mental Health Act 1983 and then discharged from certain sections of the Act. People’s experience of using this service:
•There were enough staff to meet people’s assessed needs and support their planned activities.
•Risks which affected people’s daily lives, both in the home and out in the community, were documented and managed by staff.
•Staff had completed safeguarding training and knew what to do if they were concerned about people’s well-being.
•Staff provided support for people to take the medicines they needed to remain well.
•Staff received training which enabled them to provide care and support in line with best techniques and current practice to meet people’s needs.
•People were supported to make daily living choices such as what they wanted to eat and how to maintain good mental and physical health.
•People benefitted from following their own interests and hobbies and staff helped people to become more socially involved and engaged within the local community.
•Staff were aware people’s needs could change, and understood when to seek advice and involve other health care professionals and services.
•People were encouraged and supported by staff to make decisions about their care and how this care was delivered to them. Staff knew people’s preferred ways of communicating, to assist people to make their own choices.
•People were treated with respect and understanding. Staff were aware of how their approach could affect people’s personalities and wellbeing. Staff took a genuine interest in people, knew them well and had a good understanding of their social and cultural needs.
• Staff encouraged and supported people to be as independent as possible.
•Care plans contained good and clear information for staff to help them provide good and consistent care to people. Plans were personalised and focussed clearly on maintaining physical and mental wellbeing.
•There was a manager in post at the time our inspection visit and they were in the process of registering with us.
•Plans were made to improve the interior and exterior of the home and staff and people living at the home, kept the home clean.
•People and staff’s feedback was sought to improve the delivery of service.
•Systems of audits were in place but further scrutiny was needed to make sure actions were taken when checks were completed or delegated to others.
We found the service met the characteristics of a “Good” rating in four areas and “Requires Improvement” in one area; For more details, please see the full report which is on the CQC website at www.cqc.org.uk
Rating at last inspection: Good. The last report for Albany House was published on 29 July 2016.
Why we inspected: This was a planned inspection based on the rating at the last inspection. The previous ‘good’ service provided to people had remained consistent.
Follow up: We will continue to monitor intelligence we receive about the service until we return to visit as per our inspection programme. If any concerning information is received we may inspect sooner.