Archived: Boniface House

There was a registered manager in post. 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.

People felt safe in the home. Staff understood the need to protect people from harm and abuse and knew what action they should take if they had any concerns. Staffing levels ensured that people received the support they required at the times they needed and recruitment procedures protected people from receiving unsafe care from care staff unsuited to the job.

Care records contained risk assessments and risk management plans to protect people from identified risks and helped to keep them safe. They gave information for staff on the identified risk and informed staff on the measures to take to minimise any risks. People were supported to take their medicines as prescribed and medicines were obtained, stored, administered and disposed of safely.

People received care from staff that were supported to carry out their roles to meet the assessed needs of people living at the home. Staff received training in areas that enabled them to understand and meet the care needs of each person and people were actively involved in decisions about their care and support needs. There were formal systems in place to assess people’s capacity for decision making under the Mental Capacity Act 2005 and Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS). People were supported to maintain good health and had access to healthcare services when they were needed.

People received care from compassionate and supportive staff and people and staff had positive relationships with each other. Staff understood the needs of the people they supported and used the information they had about people to engage them in meaningful conversations. People were supported to make their own choices and when they needed additional support the staff arranged for an advocate to become involved. The home had developed a strong focus on providing the excellent end of life care for people and supported people to consider and make decisions about how they would like to spend their last moments.

Care plans were written in a person centred manner and focussed on giving people choices and opportunities to receive their care how they liked it to be. They detailed how people wished to be supported and people were fully involved in making decisions about their care. People participated in a range of activities and received the support they needed to help them do this. People were able to choose where they spent their time and what they did. People were able to raise complaints and they were investigated and resolved promptly.

People and staff were confident in the management of the home and felt listened to. People were able to provide feedback and this was acted on and improvements were made. The service had audits and quality monitoring systems in place which ensured people received good quality care that enhanced their life. Policies and procedures were in place which reflected the care provided at the home and the staff had worked to develop strong community links and share best practice.

This is a summary of what we found.

Is the service safe?

We spoke with staff that were knowledgeable about their responsibilities to keep people safe. They were able to tell us how they would raise any safeguarding concerns within the organisation and, if needed, externally. Regular checks had been made of the environment and the equipment to keep people safe such as fire alarms and firefighting equipment. We also found that staff had responded swiftly when people's needs had changed, and that daily records of care contained up to date information of people's needs so that safe care could be given.

Is the service effective?

We saw that individualised care plans had been put in place which ensured people's health and wellbeing needs were met. We found that staff had responded to people's physical health needs and that referrals to healthcare professionals had been made in a timely way. We spoke with family members who told us that 'We are very happy with the care provided'.

Is the service caring?

We saw that people were supported by knowledgeable, kind and caring staff. We heard staff speak with people in an encouraging and sensitive way which evidenced their knowledge of people's individual needs. We observed people being supported to participate in activities which were appropriate for their abilities, we also heard people sharing jokes and having fun with the staff that were supporting them. We found that whenever possible people had been involved in the planning of their care and support requirements and their wishes were respected.

Is the service responsive to people's needs?

People were involved in a range of activities including bingo, and Saturday night 'happy hour'. A recent questionnaire had involved people in the selection of the next outing they would participate in. People were treated with respect and dignity by the staff. We found that people's preferences in their daily routines had been recorded and carried out. We spoke with people that used the service and they told us 'they look after me very well'. Another person told us 'I would say that the residents here are very lucky to have so many resources at their disposal'.

Is the service well led?

Staff had a good understanding of the ethos of the service and we found they were knowledgeable of the needs of people who used the service. We found that there was a complaints process in place, and that any complaints had been investigated promptly. People and family members had been asked to provide feedback on the service. We also found that the feedback was positive in all aspects. We observed that the manager had systems in place to regularly monitor the quality of the service and we saw that when any changes were necessary these had been actioned promptly. Staff told us that the manager was supportive and led the teams well.

People told us the staff respected their wishes and we found their personal preferences and daily routines were recorded within their individual care plans.

People received the right care and treatment in accordance with their individual care plans. We found that people using the service and / or close relatives, acting in their best interests, had signed a form to indicate they were in agreement with how people's needs were to be met. We saw the care plans detailed the specific elements of people's care and treatment needs and staff had amended the care plans as and when changes had taken place.

The provider may wish to note that we found the individual care plans did not indicate the date of when they had been first drafted. This could lead to the risk of people's changing needs not being responded to appropriately.

We found that staff received regular supervision, annual appraisals of their performance and provided with appropriate training. We saw that the provider carried out annual quality assurance surveys to give people using the service, their relatives and other people involved in their care the opportunity to provide feedback about the service provision.