We undertook an inspection of The Spinney on 22 and 23 February 2017. This was an unannounced inspection. At the last inspection in February 2015 the service was rated Good.The Spinney provides accommodation for up to 48 older people living with dementia. There were 44 people living at the home when we visited.
The service had a manager who had been in place since January 2017. They were about to start the process of applying to become the registered manager of the service. 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 found one breach of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014. You can see what action we asked the provider to take at the back of the full version of this report.
Recruitment and selection procedures were not always carried out in line with the provider’s policy and procedure and may have placed people using the service at risk of harm by unsafe recruitment and selection practices.
The experiences of people who lived at the home were positive. People told us they felt safe living at the home, staff were kind and compassionate and the care they received was good. Staff had a good understanding of their responsibility with regard to safeguarding adults.
People’s needs were assessed and their preferences identified as much as possible across all aspects of their care. Risks were identified and plans were in place to monitor and reduce risks. People had access to relevant health professionals when they needed them. Medicines were stored and administered safely.
Staff undertook training and received one to one supervision to help support them to provide effective care. The manager and staff we spoke with had a good understanding of the Mental Capacity Act 2005 (MCA) and Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS). MCA and DoLS is law protecting people who are unable to make decisions for themselves or whom the state has decided their liberty needs to be deprived in their own best interests.
People told us they liked the food provided and we saw people were able to choose what they ate and drank.
People’s needs were assessed and met in a personalised manner. Care plans were in place which included information about how to meet a person’s individual and assessed needs. People’s cultural and religious needs were respected when planning and delivering care. Discussions with staff members showed that they respected people’s sexual orientation so that lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people could feel accepted and welcomed in the service.
The service had a complaints procedure in place and we found that complaints were investigated and where possible resolved to the satisfaction of the complainant.
Staff told us the service had an open and inclusive atmosphere and senior staff were approachable and accessible. The service had various quality assurance and monitoring mechanisms in place. These included surveys, audits and staff and resident meetings.