Archived: The Bay Tree Residential Home for the Elderly

The Bay Tree Residential Home for the Elderly provides personal care for up to 18 older people, On the day of the inspection there were 12 people living in the home. The service is located in the seaside village of Robin Hoods Bay. The service does not provide nursing care.

The home had 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. The registered manager was also the registered provider.

Staff were able to tell us what they would do to ensure people were safe and how to refer any concerns to the correct agencies. People told us they felt safe at the home. The registered provider assessed risks for people regarding their health and the environment of the service. Risk management plans were drawn up with people’s involvement to ensure they were protected from harm while not having their liberty unnecessarily restricted.

The home had sufficient suitable staff to care for people and staff were safely recruited.

People were protected because the staff managed medicines safely.

Staff had received training to ensure that people received care appropriate for their needs. Staff received supervision to support their professional development.

The registered provider ensured that people were treated with regard to the Mental Capacity Act (MCA) 2005 and Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS). Staff understood that people should be consulted about their care and that they should assume that a person had capacity to make decisions. People who did not have capacity to make certain decisions had these made in their best interests in line with the MCA.

People told us they enjoyed the meals and their nutrition and hydration needs were met. People were offered alternatives if they did not like certain menu choices. People’s clinical care needs were met in consultation with health care professionals.

People were treated with kindness and compassion. We saw staff had a good rapport with people and treated them with respect. Staff had a good knowledge and understanding of people’s needs.

Care plans provided detailed information about people’s individual needs and preferences. Records and observations provided evidence that people were supported to feel cared for and listened to. Care plans were updated when people's needs changed.

People were supported to engage in daily activities they enjoyed. The registered provider and staff understood what was important to people, their personal histories and social networks so that they could support them in the way they preferred.

People told us their complaints were responded to and the results of complaints investigations were clearly recorded. People we spoke with told us that if they had concerns these were addressed directly with the registered provider who responded quickly.

People told us they saw the registered provider and spoke with them every day they were on duty. They asked people how they were and if there were any improvements they could make each day. People gave us examples of when the registered manager had responded quickly to their suggestions.

The registered provider ensured the quality of the service through a system of audits and checks. They sought feedback from people who lived at the home, relatives, visitors and professionals with an interest in the service and acted on this to improve people’s quality of care. The registered provider recorded a number of audits and kept records of essential checks such as lift servicing, gas and electrical safety certificate and checks on the safety of water temperatures.

Some of the audits and checks were not written down. Annual appraisals were not always recorded so that staff may not receive the support they needed around this area of their work. We made a recommendation about these areas.

People told us that staff understood their care needs and were attentive and kind. One person told us "They all have time to chat and don't rush you. They are particularly good when you dont feel well".

We saw that the home assessed people's care needs and considered risks. Care plans were available for each person which were kept under review. Specialists had been consulted where appropriate to ensure poeple had the benefit of expert advice.

Medicines were generally handled safely although there was some risk attached to the way medication was administered by two members of staff.

There were sufficient staff on duty to care for people safely.

The home had systems in place to regulalry monitor and assess the quality of the service people received.

Care and welfare of people who used the service.

Safety of people using the service.

Availablity and safety of equipment used at the service.

We spoke with four people who lived at the home. All told us they were happy with their care and treatment. They told us they did not have to wait for assistance and that they were content with the entertainment and daily activities offered to them.

We found that people had their care needs assessed and that strategies were in place to minimise assessed risks. However we found that some people may not have their social and recreational needs met.

People were protected from abuse and the risk of abuse. However, we also found that in one particular case the home had not sufficiently consulted with health care professionals to ensure appropriate equipment was in place. This had not resulted in harm to the person but there had been a risk due to the home using an improvised method of ensuring a person was protected from falling.

We found that the home had sufficient and well maintained equipment in place to meet people's needs.

When we spoke with the provider it was clear that the home had a system for monitoring and improving practice. We have made no compliance actions as a result of this inspection.