Archived: Key West Residential Home

Updated 4 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.

Our inspection was unannounced and the team consisted of one inspector. We checked the information we held about the service and the provider. This included notifications that the provider had sent to us about incidents at the service and information we had received from the public. We also spoke with the local authority who provided us with current monitoring information. We used this information to help formulate our inspection plan.

On this occasion, we had not asked the provider to send us a Provider Information Return (PIR). This is a form that asks the provider to give some key information about the service, what the service does well and improvements they plan to make. However, we offered the provider the opportunity to share information they felt relevant with us.

We spoke with four people who used the service and two relatives. Some people were unable to tell us their experience of their life in the home, so we observed how the staff interacted with people in communal areas.

We also spoke with four members of care staff, the manager and two visiting professionals. We reviewed three staff files to see how staff were recruited. We looked at the training records to see how staff were trained and supported to deliver care to meet each person’s needs. We looked at the systems the provider had in place to ensure the quality of the service was monitored and reviewed to drive improvement.

Updated 4 February 2016

This inspection was unannounced and took place on 22 December 2015. The service was registered to provide accommodation for nine people. People who used the service had physical health needs and/or were living with dementia. At the time of our inspection nine people were using the service. Our last inspection took place in June 2013.and at that time we found the provider was meeting the regulations.

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. The service was also registering another manager with us to support the service. The registered manager is also the provider for this service. Another manager had been recruited and they were in the process of registering with us, so they could jointly manage the service.

The provider and manager were not clear on their understanding and responsibilities in complying with the requirements of the Mental Capacity Act 2005 (MCA) and Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS). We observed some people lacked capacity in certain areas; appropriate assessments had not been completed to show how people were supported to make those decisions.

The provider determined the staffing levels on the number of people living in the home and the level of support they required. Staff had been trained to support people’s needs and on-going training was provided often directed by the staff through their supervision. People felt safe within the service and staff understood their role in ensuring people were protected from abuse or poor practice.

Staff knew people well, many of the staff had been working at the service for a long time so people received consistent care and support. People were responded to in a kind and friendly manner and respected for their decisions. Risk assessments were in place to ensure people’s safety was maintained.

Medicines were managed safely and in accordance with good practice. People received food and drink that met their nutritional needs and had a choice of the foods they wished to eat. Staff had made referrals to healthcare professionals in a timely manner to maintain people’s health and wellbeing.

Staff were caring in their approach and they created a warm homely environment which people told us they liked and enjoyed. People felt confident they could raise any concerns with the provider and manager. There were processes in place for people to express their views and opinions about the home.

The provider and manager had systems in place to monitor the quality of the service. This was an area they were planning to expand on to support the service. People and their relatives had provided feedback on the service to drive improvements and personalised support. The provider had a ‘hands on’ approach in quality assurance to ensure good practice was maintained. Staff felt supported and respected by the provider.

You can see what action we told the provider to take at the back of the full version of the report.