1 December 2016
During a routine inspection
This comprehensive inspection took place on 1 December 2016 and was unannounced.
A registered manager was in post at the time of the inspection and had been registered since September 2015. At the time of our inspection the registered manager was on leave. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission (CQC) 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’s needs were assessed and a sufficient number of skilled and competent staff were in place to meet these. An effective recruitment process was in place to ensure that staff were suitable to look after people who used the service.
Staff had the skills they needed to keep people safe and they were aware of those organisations they could report any incident of harm to. People’s medicines were administered and managed safely. Risk assessments had been completed and measures were in place to manage people’s risks.
Staff were provided with training and they had the right skills to meet people’s assessed care needs. People’s nutritional needs were met. People were supported with their health care needs by the most appropriate health professional and the services they provided.
The CQC is required by law to monitor the Mental Capacity Act 2005 [MCA] and the Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards [DoLS] and to report on what we find. People were able to make decisions with staff support. Staff respected people’s choices and independent living skills. The registered manager had procedures in place to help determine if any person was deemed to lack the mental capacity to make decisions about their care. Staff had a good understanding of the guidance related to the MCA.
Staff provided people’s care with compassion, respect and dignity. People, their relatives or representatives were involved in determining people’s care needs. Information about advocacy was available if this was required.
People were provided various pastimes and activities they could take part in as well as opportunities to help reduce the risk of social isolation. People were supported by staff to be as independent as possible. Regular reviews of people’s care plans were undertaken to help ensure people’s care needs were up-to-date.
People were provided with the means to raise any concerns they may have had about the quality of their care. Corrective action was taken promptly to reduce the risk for any potential recurrence. People’s concerns were recorded and acted upon promptly.
The registered manager was supported by a business manager, senior care staff and care staff. Staff had the support they needed to do their jobs effectively.
Quality assurance procedures and spot checks were in place and these helped to drive improvements in the care that was provided. People’s and their relatives’ views about the quality of the service had been sought.
The registered manager and provider had notified the CQC about events that, by law, they had to tell us about.