Archived: Gingercroft Residential Home

Updated 9 February 2016

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 20 January 2016 and was unannounced. It was undertaken by one inspector.

Prior to the inspection we looked at the information we held about the service. This included notifications that we had received from the provider about events that had happened at the service. A notification is information about important events which the provider is required to send us by law.

We spoke with seven people who used the service and observed other people's care and support. We spoke with two visiting relatives, four care staff, the registered manager and a director.

We looked at six people’s care records, medication administration records, two staff recruitment files and the quality monitoring audits. We did this to gain people’s views about the care and to check that standards of care were being met.

Updated 9 February 2016

This inspection took place on the 20 January 2016 and was unannounced,

Gingercroft Residential Home provides accommodation and personal care for up to 21 people. 19 people were using the service at the time we inspected.

The registered manager supported us throughout the inspection. 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 were safeguarded from abuse and the risk of abuse as staff knew what constituted abuse and who to report it to. The manager had previously made referrals for further investigation when they had suspected abuse had taken place.

People were supported to be as independent as they were able to be through the effective use of risk assessments and the staff knowledge of them.

There were enough suitably qualified staff who had been recruited using safe recruitment procedures available to maintain people’s safety and meet their individual needs.

People medicines were stored and administered safely by medication trained staff.

The Mental Capacity Act 2005 (MCA) is designed to protect people who cannot make decisions for themselves or lack the mental capacity to do so. The Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS) are part of the MCA. They aim to make sure that people in care homes, hospitals and supported living are looked after in a way that does not inappropriately restrict their freedom. The provider followed the principles of the MCA by ensuring that people consented to their care or were supported by representatives to make decisions.

Staff were supported to fulfil their role effectively. There was a regular programme of training that was relevant to the needs of people at the home.

People’s nutritional needs were met. People were supported to eat and drink sufficient to maintain a healthy lifestyle.

People were supported to access a range of health care services. When people became unwell staff responded and sought the appropriate support.

Staff were observed to be kind and caring and they told us that they were supported by the registered manager.

Care was personalised and met people’s individual needs and preferences. The provider had a complaints procedure and people knew how to use it.

The provider had systems in place to monitor the quality of the service. When improvements were required these were made in a timely manner.