The inspection took place on 3 and 4 May 2017. The inspection was unannounced. This meant the provider did not know we would be visiting.Aycliffe Care Home is based in a residential area of West Auckland, County Durham. The home provides personal care and nursing care for older people and people living with dementia. The service is situated close to the local amenities and transport links. The service is registered for up to 54 people and at the time of our inspection there were 51 people using the service.
The service had a registered manager in place. 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.
We last inspected the service in March 2015 and rated the service as ‘Good.’ At this inspection we found the service remained ‘Good’ and met all the fundamental standards we inspected against.
The atmosphere of the service was relaxed and welcoming. People who used the service and their relatives told us they felt at home and visitors were welcome.
We spent time observing the support that took place in the service. Without exception we saw staff interacting with people attentively with caring attitudes. People were always respected by staff and treated with kindness. We saw staff communicating with people well and at times used their skills positively to reassure people who used the service.
People were encouraged to enhance their wellbeing and to take part in occasional activities that were valued. Staff spent their time positively engaging with people as a group and on a one to one basis. People were supported to go out regularly too.
People’s care plans were written in plain English and in a person centred way and they also included a one page profile that gave information that included personal history and described individuals preferences and support needs. These were regularly reviewed.
Care plans contained risk assessments. The care plans showed that people’s health was monitored and referrals were made to other health care professionals where necessary, for example: their GP, dentist or optician.
Staff training records, showed staff were supported and able to maintain and develop their skills through training and development opportunities that were accessible at the service. The staff confirmed they attended a range of valuable learning opportunities. Some training was in need of refreshing and courses were already booked for staff to attend.
Staff had supervisions and appraisals with the registered manager where they had the opportunity to discuss their care practice and identify further mandatory and vocational training needs.
Records showed us there were robust recruitment processes in place.
We observed how the service administered medicines using an online system. We looked at how this worked and how records were kept and spoke with senior staff who administered medicines and we found that the process was safe.
People were encouraged to eat and drink sufficient amounts to meet their needs. They were offered a varied selection of drinks and snacks.
A complaints and compliments procedure was in place. This provided information on the action to take if someone wished to make a complaint and what they should expect to happen next. The compliments we looked at were complimentary to the care staff, management and the service as a whole.
People had their rights respected and access to advocacy services if needed.
We found an effective quality assurance survey took place regularly using questionnaires. The service had also been regularly reviewed through a range of internal and external audits for example the local authority. We saw that action had been taken to improve the service or put right any issues found.
People who used the service and their representatives were regularly asked for their views about the care and service they received.
The premises were well presented, clean and infection control measures were in place throughout.
People are supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff support them in the least restrictive way possible; the policies and systems in the service support this practice.