Archived: Mears Care - Greenwich

Mears Care – Greenwich provides support, including personal care to people in three extra care housing schemes in the Royal Borough of Greenwich. At the time of our inspection there were over 160 people receiving support by the service.

There was a registered manager in post who had been registered in September 2016. 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.

At this inspection we identified a breach of regulations because the provider’s recruitment processes had not always been properly followed and sufficient checks had not been made to ensure that applying staff were of good character. We also identified a further breach because the systems in place to monitor the quality and safety of the service were not always effective in identifying issues or driving improvements. You can see the action we have asked the provider to take at the back of the full version of this report.

We found that there were sufficient numbers of staff on duty, although improvement was required to ensure they were deployed effectively to support people safely. Risks to people had been assessed and staff were aware of the action to take to minimise identified risks. However, improvement was required to ensure people’s risk assessments were consistently reviewed in line with the provider’s policy.

People told us they were supported to take their medicines appropriately and records confirmed people received their medicines as prescribed, although further improvement was required to ensure people’s medicines administration records included information about the reasons why people had not always taken ‘as required’ medicines.

People were protected from the risk of abuse because staff had received training and were aware of the action to take if they suspected abuse had occurred. There were procedures in place to deal with emergencies. Staff received training and supervision in support of their roles. They were aware of the importance of seeking consent from people when offering them support and told us people had capacity to make decisions about their care. There were arrangements to comply with the Mental Capacity Act 2005.

People were supported to maintain a balanced diet where this was part of their assessed needs. They were also supported to access healthcare services where required. Staff treated people with dignity and respected their privacy. People were involved in day to day decisions about their care and told us staff treated them with kindness and consideration.

People’s needs were assessed and care provided in line with their individual needs and preferences. The provider had a complaints procedure in place. People told us they knew how to raise concerns and had confidence that any issues they raised would be addressed.

People and staff spoke highly of the registered manager and told us the service was well run. The registered manager encouraged staff to work in a positive and open culture and was available to provide support when needed. The provider had systems in place to enable people to offer feedback about the service to help drive improvements.

People told us they were always treated in a respectful manner, and the staff knew them well and understood how to attend to their needs. Most people we spoke with said that the staff explained what they were doing and involved them in decisions about their care, and in reviewing their care plans. People said they were given choices about how their care was delivered, and that they felt safe and well cared for.

The staff understood how to keep people safe and understood their responsibilities for reporting concerns if necessary. The provider ensured people received support to safely manage their medication when needed and safe recruitment practices were adhered to in order to keep people safe. There was a system in place to effectively respond to people's concerns and complaints.

Most people told us that staff were competent in providing care, and said they were able to ask staff when they needed support or advice, and that staff listened to them. One person who used the service told us they were; " very happy living at Mears Care' and described the staff as 'lovely'. Another said that; 'staff aren't perfect, but they are very busy and do their jobs well'. Some people told us that they have problems in opening fire doors in their flats and that sometimes staff were delayed in responding to the emergency call bell. The provider said there were in the process of resolving these issues.

We reviewed information about eight people's care and found that their care needs were being planned for. We spoke with staff and found that they understood people's care needs and how to protect them from risk and harm. We found that staff had adequate training and supervision, and were supported by the agency's management. Staff we spoke with said management were very supportive and the training was good. The provider used effective systems to regularly check that care was being provided safely and appropriately.