Archived: Harrias House Residential Care Home

Updated 30 October 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 8 September and was unannounced. This meant the provider did not know we were visiting. There were two inspectors carrying out the inspection.

The service was previously inspected on 10 April 2014 and met the requirements in all areas assessed.

Prior to the inspection we reviewed the Provider Information Record (PIR) and previous inspection reports. The PIR is a form that asks the provider to give some key information about a service, what the service does well and improvements they plan to make. We also reviewed the information we held about the service and notifications we had received. A notification is information about events which the service is required to send us by law.

We gathered evidence of people’s experience of the service in conversations we had with five of them and during observations in communal areas. We also spoke with six members of staff and with three relatives. We received information from three care professionals associated with the service and with a member of the board of trustees.

We looked at a range of records. These included four care plans, three staff files, medicine administration records, training records, residents and staff meeting minutes and selected policies and procedures.

Updated 30 October 2015

The inspection took place on 8 September 2015 and was carried out as part of our schedule of comprehensive inspections. The inspection was unannounced which meant the provider did not know we would be visiting.

Harrias House Residential Care Home provides care and accommodation for up to 19 predominantly older people. Harrias House Residential Care Home does not provide nursing care.

At the time of our inspection there were 15 people living in the home. 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 who use the service gave us positive feedback about the care and support they received at Harrias House. One person told us "The staff are friendly; they always take their time to support me". People’s independence was promoted because they received the support they needed. During our inspection we observed that people were treated with dignity and respect and were able to make their own choices.

Care plans we reviewed contained detailed information of people’s medical, social and support needs. We saw relevant risk assessments were undertaken and recorded to reduce the likelihood of injury or harm.

The provider had a robust system to ensure appropriate checks were undertaken prior to applicants undertaking employment. Disclosure and Barring Service checks (DBS) for new staff had been completed to ensure their suitability to work with vulnerable adults.

Staff members were supported appropriately within their roles through ongoing training and supervision. One member of staff told us "I love working here; we are a very good team". We saw appraisals were undertaken annually.

We spoke with a pharmacy manager who had dealt with Harrias House for the past three years. They told us staff ordered and managed medicines effectively, they ensured they followed procedures correctly and queried any anomalies with either them or the relevant G.P.

We also received positive feedback from other professionals who visited the service.