17 November 2015
During a routine inspection
Aitken House is a service that provides accommodation and care for up to 20 people who are living with a mental health condition. On the day of the inspection, there were a total of ten people living at the home, two of whom were in hospital.
There was a registered manager employed at the home. The registered manager was also the provider. 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 and associated Regulations about how the service is run.
People were happy living at Aitken House. They described it as their home where they felt safe, well cared for and comfortable. People were listened to by the staff and the provider and their opinion was valued.
The staff were trained to a good standard to provide care to people safely and were developing their knowledge in relation to mental health conditions. This would provide them with further skills when supporting people who were living with a mental health condition.
There were enough staff to provide support to the people who lived at Aitken House and people were able to make decisions and choices about their care and these were respected by the staff.
People were encouraged to be as independent as they wished to be and were supported to use the facilities within the community when they wanted to. They were supported by the staff to maintain good health.
People’s care needs and preferences had been assessed. However, some risks to people’s safety had not been managed well which meant they there was a risk they could experience harm. There was a risk that people would not receive their medicines when they needed them.
The home was well maintained and clean. Risks in relation to the premises were well managed. The staff were happy working for the provider and felt supported in their role.
There were a lack of systems in place to monitor the quality and safety of the service provided to the people who lived in the home. Some records about people’s care were inaccurate which placed them at risk of receiving incorrect care.
There were some breaches of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations (2014). You can see what action we have told the provider to take at the back of this report.