Archived: Gracelands

Updated 19 February 2016

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 13 January 2016 and was unannounced.

The inspection team consisted of one inspector and an expert by experience. An expert-by-experience is a person who has personal experience of using or caring for someone who uses this type of care service.

As part of the inspection we reviewed the information we held about the service, such as statutory notifications we had received from the provider. Statutory notifications are about important events which the provider is required to send us by law. We also reviewed the Provider Information Record (PIR). The PIR is a form where we ask the provider to give some key information about the service, what the service does well and what improvements they plan to make. We asked the local authority and Healthwatch if they had information to share about the service provided. We used this information to plan the inspection.

During the inspection we spoke with six people who used the service and three relatives. We spoke with five staff which included the registered manager and four support staff. We viewed five records which related to assessment of needs, risk, medicine and communication passports. We also viewed other records which related to the management of the service such as the complaints process, accident forms and staff recruitment records.

We were unable to communicate verbally with everyone who used the service. We used staff and observation to gain an understanding of people’s experience of the care and support they received.

Updated 19 February 2016

The inspection was carried out on 13 January 2016 and was unannounced.

Gracelands is registered to provide accommodation with personal care needs to seven people who have a learning disability or autistic spectrum disorder. There were six people living at the home on the day of the inspection.

There was a registered manager in post who was present during the inspection. 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.

Relatives felt that staff kept people safe and staff knew how to protect people from harm. Staff were aware of who to report concerns to if they suspected or became aware of any abuse taking place.

Risks to people’s safety had been assessed and guidelines put in place to minimise the risks without restricting people’s activities or independence.

There were enough staff on duty to meet people’s needs and the registered manager kept staffing levels under review. Checks were completed on staff before they started to work at the home to ensure they were suitable to work with the people.

People were supported to take their medicines as prescribed and medicine was stored safely. Staff were provided with information on the support people required to manage their medicine safely. People were supported to see health care professionals as and when required.

People were involved in decisions about their care and support and were encouraged to make their own choices. When people did not have the capacity to make their own decisions staff ensured decisions made on their behalf were made in their best interest.

People were supported to choose what they wanted to eat and drink. People’s nutritional needs were routinely assessed, monitored and reviewed. Where there were concerns about how much people ate and drank charts were in place to monitor this.

Staff were kind and considerate and spoke with and about people in a respectful way. People were treated with dignity and respect and their independence was promoted.

People were actively encouraged to follow their interests and aspirations. People were supported to keep in contact with people who were important to them.

Relatives felt comfortable and able to raise any concerns with staff or the manager. They were confident that any concerns would be listened to and acted upon.

There was a positive working culture where people, relatives and staff found the registered manager enthusiastic in their approach. Staff took pride in working for the service and were highly motivated to deliver the values of the service.

The registered manager was committed to delivering a quality service and had systems in place to check on the quality of the service. They actively sought feedback from people, relatives, staff and health care professionals in order to develop and improve the service.