Background to this inspection
Updated
11 December 2015
We carried out this inspection under Section 60 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 as part of our regulatory functions. This inspection was planned to check whether the provider is meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Health and Social Care Act 2008, to look at the overall quality of the service, and to provide a rating for the service under the Care Act 2014.
This inspection took place on 29 September 2015 and was unannounced. There was one inspector in the team.
We reviewed the information we held about the home and looked at the notifications they had sent us. A notification is information about important events which the provider is required to send us by law.
As part of the inspection we met with people who lived at the service and used different methods to gather their experiences of what it was like to live at the home. We also spoke with two care staff, one relative and the registered manager.
We observed care and used the Short Observational Framework for Inspection (SOFI). SOFI is a specific way of observing care to help us understand the experience of people who could not talk with us. We reviewed care records, the complaints folder and communication books. We also looked at the systems in place to ensure that the service was well led. We therefore also reviewed minutes of staff meetings as well as checks the registered manager and provider made of the service.
Updated
11 December 2015
The inspection took place on 29 September 2015 and was unannounced.
The home provides accommodation for a maximum of five people requiring personal care. There were five people living at the home when we visited. A registered manager was in post when we inspected 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 and associated Regulations about how the service is run.
People felt safe around staff and looked to staff for reassurance. Staff responded to people by offering support to people in a variety of ways which included tactile reassurance, smiles and hugs.
Staff understood people’s health risks and how best to care for them. Staff understood people’s individual health needs and staff were always available to people should they require support.
Staff recruitment ensured staff backgrounds had been checked so that it was safe for them to work with people.
People’s medications were reviewed daily by staff so that people received their medication as it had been prescribed. The registered manager also completed their own checks of people’s medication to ensure people received the correct medication.
Staff were supported by regular supervision and received the training necessary to do the job. They were offered further training in areas where people would benefit from the additional learning such as enhanced communication techniques.
People’s care and support was offered in a way that was in line with legal requirements relating to how people can consent. The registered manager acted in accordance with what was expected of them.
People received nutritious meals that they chose. People who required a special diet were also supported to receive these.
People received care from staff that they liked and who understood their preferences. People were offered choices about their care and people indicated their preferences in a ways that was appropriate to them.
People were cared for by staff that understood how to care for people with dignity and who helped to maintain their independence. Staff recognised that that people’s needs were different and responded accordingly.
People were supported to pursue interests that they liked. People were offered choice about things they should like to be involved in or decline if they wished. People were supported to maintain relationships and friendships with people that were important to them. Friendships with people living at the service as well as people living at the provider’s other services were also encouraged and supported.
People and staff liked the registered manager. Staff described an easy and open relationship with the registered manager where issues important to them could be discussed.
The registered manager understood the providers’ expectation of standards of care at the service. The registered manager worked with the provider to meet these standards by completing the necessary checks to ensure standards could be measured.