We carried out a review of the data available to us about Aram House on 6 July 2023. We have not found evidence that we need to carry out an inspection or reassess our rating at this stage.
This could change at any time if we receive new information. We will continue to monitor data about this service.
If you have concerns about Aram House, you can give feedback on this service.
Aram House is a care home for up to 5 people who have mental health needs. There were 5 people living there at the time of the inspection. The service is operated by a private limited company, and this is their only location.
People’s experience of using this service and what we found
People were happy at the service. They were safe and well looked after. The service specialised in supporting people to move back into the community after hospital with the aim of increasing their independence, skills, confidence and improving their mental wellbeing. They did this successfully and had supported people to move to their own homes. Professionals working with the service praised the work there, with one professional tell us, ''This is our go to service for [people with these needs].''
People received support with their mental and physical health. The staff understood their needs and worked closely with other professionals to assess, plan for and review people's care. The staff made timely referrals and interventions when people needed support.
Risks were well managed with staff supporting people to make informed decisions about their lives and empowering them to manage their own risks. For example, people were supported to take responsibility for their own medicines, accessing the community and finances.
People were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff supported them in the least restrictive way possible and in their best interests; the policies and systems in the service supported this practice.
There were enough suitable staff. They received the training and information they needed to care for people. They were well supported by the registered manager who worked directly with people and staff.
There were systems to monitor and improve the quality of the service. These included working closely with people using the service to understand their views and how they wanted to be cared for.
For more information, please read the detailed findings section of this report. If you are reading this as a separate summary, the full report can be found on the Care Quality Commission (CQC) website at www.cqc.org.uk
Rating at last inspection and update
The last rating for this service was good (published 11 December 2019).
Why we inspected
We undertook this inspection as part of a random selection of services rated good and outstanding.
Follow up
We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service, which will help inform when we next inspect.
Aram House is a care home for up to five adults with mental health needs. The service aims to support people who were living in other care settings or hospital with the goal of moving to a more independent setting when they are ready. At the time of our inspection five people were living at the service. They were in different stages in their journeys through recovery.
The service was owned and managed by a small private company. This was their only service. The director of the company was also the registered manager.
People’s experience of using this service and what we found
People were happy with the support they received. They were able to make decisions about their care and everyday lives. The staff treated them with respect and they had good relationships with them. People were supported to learn self help and independent living skills.
People were supported to access the healthcare services they needed, and staff helped them liaise with health care professionals if they wanted and needed this support. Staff helped people with their medicines and people were given opportunities to take control of this themselves.
People were involved in planning and reviewing their own care. Care records were clear and gave staff guidance about the risks people were exposed to and how to best support them to minimise these risks and meet their needs.
The staff were well supported and communicated well with each other. They had access to a range of training and information to help them provide effective care.
The registered manager was appropriately qualified and had a very good knowledge of the individual needs of people who used the service and the staff. There were effective systems for monitoring and improving the quality of the service, as well as responding to incidents, accidents and complaints.
People were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff supported them in the least restrictive way possible and in their best interests; the policies and systems in the service supported this practice.
For more details, please see the full report which is on the CQC website at www.cqc.org.uk
Rating at last inspection
The rating at the last inspection of 24 April 2017 (Published 8 June 2017) was Good.
Why we inspected
This was a planned inspection based on the previous rating.
Follow up
We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service until we return to visit as per our re-inspection programme. If we receive any concerning information we may inspect sooner.
Aram House provides accommodation for up to five people with mental health needs. The service offers a residential living environment, with a view to people regaining their independence and then moving onto more independent living after a period of 12 to 18 months. The personal care the service provides is to administer people’s medicines. Each person has their own room with en suite toilet and shower facilities and there is a separate bathroom available. There is a spacious open plan kitchen and living area and a well maintained garden for people to access. At the time of inspection there were four people living at the service and one person visiting for a trial period.
The service is required to have a registered manager. 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 manager is also the provider for the service and has been in post since the service first registered in March 2016.
We identified some shortfalls in medicines management, which the registered manager addressed at the time of inspection and improved the monitoring processes to ensure medicines were managed safely.
Systems were in place to safeguard people from the risk of abuse and staff understood the action to take if they had any concerns.
Risk assessments and action plans were in place for individual risks so these were minimised.
Staff recruitment procedures were being followed to ensure only suitable staff were employed by the service.
The numbers of staff on duty were determined by the support each person required each day and were appropriate to meet these needs.
Staff received training to provide them with the knowledge and skills to care for people effectively.
The people who we spoke with and received feedback from, including people living at the service, a relative and health and social care professionals were happy with the support being provided at the service.
We found the service was meeting the requirements of the Mental Capacity Act 2005 (MCA). People were able to come and go independently from the service and could be accompanied by staff if they so wished.
People were able to make choices with their dietary needs and were encouraged to eat healthily.
People’s healthcare needs were identified and were monitored and met by the GP and other healthcare professionals when required.
Staff understood the individual support people needed and this was provided this in a friendly and caring manner.
Care records were personalised and were reviewed each month to keep them up to date.
People were able to access activities and work outside the service and there were also activities within the service that people could participate in. People’s religious and cultural needs were respected.
There was a complaints procedure in place and people were confident they would raise any concerns they might have.
The registered manager wanted to provide the best service they could to support people to improve and regain their independence. They kept up to date with current good practice and provided good support to the staff and to the people using the service.
Processes were in place with additional systems being introduced to audit and monitor the service effectively.