R-H-P Outreach Services - South Norwood Hill

R-H-P Outreach Services – South Norwood Hill is a residential care home providing accommodation and personal care. The home accommodates up to five people in one house. At the time of our inspection four people with mental health conditions were living at the home. The service also provides rehabilitation support to people living in their own homes but this is outside the scope of our inspection remit.

People’s experience of using this service and what we found

The quality and safety of the service had improved for people overall since our last inspection. However, medicines records required improvement. The provider could not always check stocks against records to confirm people received their medicines as prescribed. Other aspects of medicines management were safe and there was no evidence people had been harmed.

There were enough staff to support people. Staff did not work excessive hours which reduced the risk of them being too tired to work safely. Staff were recruited through suitable processes to check they were safe to work with people.

The provider carried out the necessary health and safety assessments and checks to keep people safe, including those relating to fire, electrical safety, water hygiene, the risk of scalding and falls from height..

A registered manager was in post who had managed the service for three years. Our inspection findings showed they understood their role and responsibility notwithstanding the issues we found around medicines.

Risks to people, including those relating to their mental health conditions, were suitably assessed and managed.

Staff received a suitable induction with ongoing training and support to care for people with mental health conditions.

People received their choice of food and were supported to maintain their health. People were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff supported them in the least restrictive way possible and in their best interests; the policies and systems in the service supported this practice.

People liked the staff who supported them and developed good relationships with them. Staff knew people well and treated them with dignity and respect. People were involved in their care. People’s care plans were based on their needs and preferences and people received personalised care. Most people managed their own daily activities and told us they had enough to do.

The provider had a suitable process to respond to any concerns or complaints.

A clear hierarchy was in place and staff felt supported by the management team. People and all staff told us the service was well-led and the provider engaged well with them.

For more details, please see the full report which is on the CQC website at www.cqc.org.uk.

Rating at last inspection

We rated the service requires improvement at our last inspection on 6 February 2020 (published 1 April 2020).

Why we inspected

This was a planned inspection to check the provider had improved since our last inspection.

We looked at infection prevention and control measures under the safe key question. We look at this in all care home inspections even if no concerns or risks have been identified. This is to provide assurance that the service can respond to COVID-19 and other infection outbreaks effectively.

Follow up

We will request an action plan from the provider to understand what they will do to improve the standards of quality and safety. We will work alongside the provider and local authority to monitor progress. We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service, which will help inform when we next inspect.

R-H-P Outreach Services – South Norwood Hill is a residential care home providing accommodation and personal care. The home accommodates up to five people in one house. At the time of our inspection five people with mental health conditions were living at the home. The service also provides rehabilitation support to people living in their own homes but this is outside the scope of our inspection remit.

People’s experience of using this service and what we found

The provider had not identified people may be at risk of harm from staff regularly working up to 48 hours waking hours in a row. The provider agreed to stop this immediately.

The provider had not ensured all necessary health and safety assessments and checks were carried out to keep people safe, including those relating to water hygiene, the risk of scalding, falls from height and a trip hazard in the garden.

People could be at increased risk of infections as the washing machine was unsuitable for contaminated materials and was located in the food preparation area.

The provider had not registered with the local authority to ensure they were inspected as part of the national food hygiene rating scheme and told us they would register immediately.

The provider carried out recruitment checks to ensure staff were suitable to work with people, although they did not always explore gaps in employment histories.

The provider recorded any incidents of behaviour which challenged, although the recording was inconsistent.

A registered manager was in post who had managed the service for the past year and was in non-managerial roles previously. Our inspection findings showed they had some gaps in their knowledge of care home management. The provider did not have sufficient oversight of the service as they had not identified and resolved the issues we found.

There were enough staff to support people safely. People were supported safely with their medicines and the provider told us they would introduce annual medicines competency assessments.

Risks to people, including those relating to their mental health conditions, were suitably assessed and managed.

Staff received a suitable induction with ongoing training and support to care for people with mental health conditions.

People received their choice of food and were supported to maintain their health. People were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff supported them in the least restrictive way possible and in their best interests; the policies and systems in the service supported this practice.

Most people liked the staff who supported them and developed good relationships with them. Staff knew people well and treated them with dignity and respect. People were involved in their care. People’s care plans were based on their needs and preferences and people received personalised care. Most people managed their own daily activities and told us they had enough to do.

The provider had a suitable process to respond to any concerns or complaints.

A clear hierarchy was in place and staff felt well supported by the management team. Most people and all staff told us the service was well-led and the provider engaged well with them.

For more details, please see the full report which is on the CQC website at www.cqc.org.uk.

Rating at last inspection

This was our first inspection since the service registered with us on 6 February 2019.

Why we inspected

This was a planned inspection based on date the service registered with us.

Follow up

We will continue to monitor intelligence we receive about the service until we return to visit as per our re-inspection programme. If any concerning information is received, we may inspect sooner.