Alinthia House is a family run care home. It provides accommodation and personal care for up to seven people. People who live at the home receive nursing care through the local community health team. The home provides both short and long term care. This inspection was unannounced and took place on 14 April 2016. Six people were living at the home at the time of the inspection, and a seventh person was receiving short-term respite care. One of the registered providers was also registered as the manager of the home. 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 told us they felt safe at Alinthia House and with the staff who supported them. One person said “goodness me, yes” and another said “yes, I feel very safe here” when asked if they felt safe. They spoke very highly of the care they received. Several people described Alinthia House as a “home from home.” They told us the staff were always kind, caring and friendly. Their comments included, “It’s lovely here, they’re very good to me”, “Everybody is wonderful, I’m looked after right, left and centre” and “The staff are absolutely wonderful.” Staff treated people with respect and protected their dignity when providing personal care. Staff told us how much they enjoyed working in such a small home where they knew people well, one member of staff said, “I love my job, doing something positive and making their day easier.” They described the home as friendly and welcoming and a “real home.”
People told us they saw and spoke with the providers every day and they were always asked if everything was alright for them. They said they had no complaints but if they did the providers and staff were approachable. They felt any concerns would be responded to. Their comments included. “You can’t find fault”, “I’m very comfortable here, I have no complaints.”
Staff were knowledgeable about the people they supported and each person’s care needs were recorded in an individual care plan. Although these were personalised to each individual they did not contain the same detail of information staff described to us. For example, people’s preferred routines and how they liked to be supported were known by staff but not recorded in the care plan. The providers said they would review the informational in the plans and ensure they fully reflected people’s preferences. There was evidence people had been involved in a monthly review of their care plan and were asked at each review if they had any requests or wished for any changes to be made.
There were sufficient staff on duty to meet people’s care needs. People told us they required some assistance with their personal care needs and mobility, such as using the stair lift to go up and down stairs, and that staff provided this assistance promptly. At the time of the inspection, no one was living with dementia or had nursing care needs. The providers spent most of their time, day and night, in the home. In addition there were two care staff on duty during the morning until 2pm and one care staff from 2pm until 6pm. There were no waking night staff as the providers slept-in every night. People told us they had few night time needs and they were able to call for assistance if they needed to. They said the providers responded quickly.
Staff were knowledgeable about safeguarding people from abuse, people’s rights under the Mental Capacity Act 2005, as well as risks to people’s health and welfare resulting from their care needs. Staff knew how and to whom to report any concerns they may have. Where accidents and incidents had taken place, the providers reviewed how these had come about to ensure risks were minimised. Recruitment procedure for new staff were in place to make sure staff were safe to work with vulnerable people.
People told us staff were skilled to meet people’s needs and spoke positively about the care and support provided. One person told us “They [the staff and providers] go out of their way for you. They are really committed. They help me with my physiotherapy; they can’t do enough for you”.
Staff told us they were provided with the training they needed to meet people’s needs and they were encouraged to progress and work towards diplomas in health and social care. A staff training matrix identified the training each member of staff had undertaken and when updates were due. Records showed the most recently appointed staff members had received training in health and safety such as moving and transferring in 2015; however some staff required updates in their training. The providers confirmed this had been arranged for later in April 2016. All staff had received training in caring for people with dementia in 2015. Newly employed staff members completed an induction programme and those new to care, were enrolled to undertake the care certificate. This certificate is an identified set of standards that care workers use in their daily work to enable them to provide compassionate, safe and high quality care and support.
People told they enjoyed the meals which were all freshly prepared by the providers each day. They said they could have drinks and snacks whenever they wished. One person said “The food is lovely, all home cooked.”
People’s medicines were managed safely and people told us the home arranged for them to see the GP should they need to. We saw records of these visits in people’s file, which also showed people had access to other health care professionals such as an optician, dentist and podiatrist.
People were able to express their views and were involved in making decisions about their care and support. They were able to say how they wanted to spend their day and what care and support they needed. People told us they preferred not to socialise in the lounge area unless there was an event organised. The home organised a number of social events each month, including musical entertainment such as a harp player who visited every two weeks. People told us they did not wish to participate in group activities such as quizzes or bingo and preferred to occupy themselves. The providers told us they had a vehicle to take people out should they wish to go, and were hopeful people would start to go out when the weather was warmer.
People and staff told us the home was well managed. There was a friendly and open atmosphere at the home. The providers and staff were seen to interact warmly and professionally with people and each other. People were relaxed in the company of the providers and it was clear they had built a good rapport with people. The majority of feedback about the quality of the care and support provided by the home was gained informally through conversations and observations. Periodically a survey was used to formally gain views from people, their relatives and staff regarding how they felt about the home.