Background to this inspection
Updated
7 January 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 November 2015 and was unannounced and was undertaken by one inspector.
Before the inspection we contacted health and social care commissioners who place and monitor the care of people living in the home. We also reviewed the information we held about the service, including statutory notifications that the provider had sent us. A statutory notification is information about important events which the provider is required to send us by law.
Before the inspection, the provider completed 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.
During the inspection we spoke with two people who used the service, nine members of staff including care/rehabilitation staff, the registered manager and members of the senior management team.
We spent some time observing care to help us understand the experience of people who lived in the home.
We reviewed the care records of four people who used the service and four staff recruitment files. We also reviewed records relating to the management and quality assurance of the service.
Updated
7 January 2016
This unannounced inspection took place on 13 November 2015. This residential care service is registered to provide accommodation and personal care to people with a mental health diagnosis, acquired brain injury, physical disabilities, younger and older adults. At the time of our inspection, four people were living at the home. The home opened in March 2015.
There was a registered manager in post at the time of our 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.
People said that they felt safe in their own home. Staff understood the need to protect people from harm and abuse and knew what action they should take if they had any concerns. Staffing levels ensured that people received the support they required at the times they needed. We observed that on the day of our inspection there were sufficient staff to meet the needs of the people they were supporting. The recruitment practice protected people from being cared for by staff that were unsuitable to work at the home.
Care records contained risk assessments and risk management plans to protect people from identified risks and help to keep them safe but also enabling positive risk taking. They gave information for staff on the identified risk and informed staff on the measures to take to minimise any risks.
People were supported to take their medicines as prescribed. Records showed that medicines were obtained, stored, administered and disposed of safely. People were supported to maintain good health and had access to healthcare services when needed.
Staff were skilled; plans were in place for new staff to complete the Care Certificate which is based on best practice. The provider’s mandatory training was updated annually.
People were actively involved in decisions about their care and support needs There were formal systems in place to assess people’s capacity for decision making under the Mental Capacity Act 2005 and Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS). People felt safe and there were clear lines of reporting safeguarding concerns to appropriate agencies and staff were knowledgeable about safeguarding adults.
Care plans were written in a person centred approach and focussed on empowering people; personal choice, ownership for decisions and people being in control of their life. They detailed how people wished to be supported and people were fully involved in making decisions about their care. People participated in a range of activities both in the home and in the community and received the support they needed to help them do this. People were able to choose where they spent their time and what they did.
People had caring relationships with the staff that supported them. Complaints were appropriately investigated and action was taken to make improvements to the service when this was found to be necessary. The manager was accessible and worked alongside care staff to monitor the quality of the service provided. Staff and people were confident that issues would be addressed and that any concerns they had would be listened to.
The registered manager and members of the senior management team of the service were passionate about people receiving person centred care and people and staff being involved and included in decisions about the future.