Archived: Cross Keys Homes

Updated 5 June 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 12 May 2015. The provider was given 48 hours’ notice because the location provides a domiciliary care service and supported living service for people who can be often out during the day; we needed to be sure that someone would be in.

The inspection was carried out by one inspector. Before the inspection we received completed surveys from 20 out of the 50 sent to people who use the service and two from relatives completing the surveys on behalf of their family member. We also received completed surveys from seven out of the 35 sent to staff.

We looked at the provider information return (PIR). This is information that the provider is required to send to us to tell us what they do to ensure that the service is safe, effective, caring, responsive and well led. Before the inspection we also looked at all of the information that we had about the agency. This included information from notifications received by us. A notification is information about important events which the provider is required to send to us by law.

During the inspection we visited the service’s office, spoke with seven people and six relatives. We also spoke with the acting manager, a member of staff responsible for the staff training programme, a member of reception staff, three senior care staff and two members of care staff. We looked at six people’s care records and records in relation to the management of the service and the management of staff. We observed how staff interacted with people.

Updated 5 June 2015

Cross Keys Homes is registered to provide personal care to adults and older people for short or long term care. People who use the agency live in the community and also in a housing complex called, ‘Kingfisher Court’. When we visited there were 92 people using the service.

The inspection took place on 12 May 2015 and we gave the provider 48-hours’ notice before we visited. The last inspection was carried out on 30 April 2014 when we found the provider was meeting the regulations we assessed against.

There was no registered manager in post at the time of our visit. The former registered manager left their post on 21November 2014. The acting manager was applying to be registered with the Care Quality Commission (CQC). A registered manager is a person who has registered with the 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.

Staff were knowledgeable about reporting any harm. There were enough staff, with arrangements in place to increase the number of permanent staff and reduce the number of staff supplied from an external agency. Recruitment procedures ensured that only suitable staff looked after people who used the agency. People were supported to take their prescribed medicines.

Staff were supported and arrangements were in place for staff to attend induction and on-going training. CQC is required by law to monitor the operation of the Mental Capacity Act 2005 (MCA) Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS) and to report on what we find. MCA assessments had not been formally carried out although people, who were presumed to lack mental capacity, had their care provided in their best interests. There was no need for DoLS applications to be made as people’s rights were protected.

People were independent in gaining access to health care professionals but were supported by the staff when this help was required. People were supported, when needed, to eat and drink adequate amounts of food and drink that they liked and to support their individual nutritional and hydration needs.

People’s independence, privacy and dignity were respected and they were looked after in a caring way.

People’s needs were responded to but their visits were not consistently carried out at the scheduled time. People looked forward to the staff visiting them as this reduced their sense of social isolation. A complaints procedure was in place and this was followed by staff. People could raise concerns with the staff at any time.

The provider had quality assurance processes and procedures in place to improve, if needed, the quality of people’s care. A staff training and development programme was in place and procedures were in place to review the standard of staff members’ work performance and levels of absence.

We found a breach of the Health and Social Care Act (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014. You can see what action we have told the provider to take at the back of the full version of this report.