Archived: Specialist Dementia Service - North

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 received safe care and support. Staff understood the need to protect people from harm and knew what action they should take if they had any concerns. There were sufficient staff to meet the needs of people that used the service and recruitment procedures protected people from receiving unsafe care from staff unsuited to the job.

Care records contained risk assessments to protect people from identified risks and helped to keep them safe. They gave information for staff on the identified risk and informed staff of the measures to take to minimise any risks.

People received care from staff that were supported in their roles by senior staff. They received support and guidance at regular intervals to ensure they were providing high quality care. Staff received training in key areas of care, which enabled them to understand the care needs of each person.

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. In addition, people were supported to identify and respond to their changing healthcare needs, for example by identifying the early onset of an infection and receiving prompt treatment.

People received care from staff that were kind and friendly. Staff understood people’s needs and ensured people were given choices about how they wished to receive their care. People received care at their own pace and had their privacy and dignity maintained when receiving assistance with their personal care.

People’s care needs were assessed to ensure the service could meet people’s expectations before they began using the service. Care plans were written in a person centred manner and gave guidance about the care people required. They detailed how people wished to be supported and people were fully involved in making decisions about their care. People received the care they needed and a suitable complaints procedure was in operation to resolve any concerns people raised.

People who used the service, relatives and staff had positive relationships with the registered manager and the culture within the service focussed upon supporting people’s health and well-being which enabled people to stay in their own homes as long as possible. Systems were in place to identify where improvements were required and for people and staff to provide feedback about the service.

We accompanied a staff member when they visited one person who used the service. We saw that the staff member had a good rapport with the person and a good knowledge of their support needs.

We looked at assessments and care plans for three people. We saw that they contained the information that staff needed to support and care for people. One staff member told us about how the service had successfully supported one person to enable them to remain living in their own home despite a number of challenges.

Staff told us that they had regular training and supervision sessions. Records confirmed that staff received training in key areas such as moving and handling and dementia care. The manager explained that staff have supervision meetings with a senior staff member and were also observed while they are providing care and support to people to ensure that they are providing care in a safe and appropriate way.

We saw that the manager had systems in place to monitor the care people receive; care records; health and safety and medication.

People experienced care, treatment and support that met their needs and protected their rights. Relatives said "The carers are all fantastic. We couldn't ask for more. The care is above and beyond the call of duty", "We certainly have no concerns. Cared for very well". One relative said "They support me as well".

People who use the service were protected from the risk of abuse, because reasonable steps were taken to identify the possibility of abuse and prevent abuse from happening. The provider had responded appropriately to an allegation of abuse.

People were supported by, suitably qualified, skilled and experienced staff and there were enough staff to meet people's needs.

The provider had an effective system to regularly assess and monitor the quality of service that people receive. Relatives told us they were asked for their views on how good the care was. The provider had an effective system in place to identify, assess and manage risks to the health, safety and welfare of people who use the service and others.