OSJCT Meadowcroft

Updated 7 June 2018

We carried out this inspection under Section 60 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 as part of our regulatory functions. This inspection checked whether the provider is meeting 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 comprehensive inspection took place on 2 May 2018 and was unannounced. The inspection team consisted of three inspectors and two experts by experience. An expert by experience is a person who has personal experience of caring for older people and people living with dementia.

Before the inspection we reviewed information available to us about this service. The registered provider had completed a Provider Information Return (PIR). The PIR is a form asking the registered provider to give some key information about the service, what the service does well and improvements they plan to make. We also reviewed safeguarding alerts; share your experience forms and notifications sent to us. A notification is information about important events which the provider is required to send us by law.

We used the Short Observational Framework for inspection (SOFI) SOFI is a way of observing care to help us understand the experience of people who could not talk with us.

We spoke with 11 people and nine relatives. We spoke with the registered manager, area operations manager, head of care, a nurse and four care staff. We also spoke with the chef, kitchen assistant, two activity co-ordinators, maintenance person and cleaner. Following the inspection we asked for feedback from five healthcare professionals who regularly visit the service. We heard back from two of these.

We reviewed 13 people's care records, looked at five staff files and reviewed records relating to the management of medicines, complaints, training and how the registered persons monitored the quality of the service.

Updated 7 June 2018

This unannounced inspection took place on 2 May 2018. OSJCT Meadowcroft is a residential care home providing accommodation for up to 71 older people who require nursing and personal care. People in care homes receive accommodation and nursing or personal care as single package under one contractual agreement. CQC regulates both the premises and care provided, and both were looked at during this inspection. There were 64 people living in the home when we visited and one person in hospital.

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.

At our last inspection in April 2016 we rated the service good. At this inspection we found the evidence continued to support the rating of good and there was no evidence or information from our inspection and ongoing monitoring that demonstrated serious risks or concerns. This inspection report is written in a shorter format because our overall rating of the service has not changed since our last inspection.

Why the service is rated Good.

People continued to be safe in the service. Risks to people were assessed and there were plans in place to manage those risks. People received their medicines safely. There was a robust recruitment and selection process in place. This ensures prospective new staff have the right skills and are suitable to work with people living in the home. There were sufficient staff to meet people's needs.

People were supported by an effective service that ensured staff had the skills and knowledge to meet people's needs. People were supported to have choice and control of their lives and staff supported them in the least restrictive way possible; the procedures in the service supported this practice. People received food and drink to meet their dietary needs.

Staff continued to support people in a caring way, showing kindness and compassion. People were treated with dignity and their privacy was respected. People were involved in their care.

The service continued to be responsive to people's needs and valued them as unique individuals. The registered manager was planning to increase the scope of activities to ensure people’s individual interests were met. Staff understood the importance of supporting people to have a good end of life as well as living life to full whilst they are fit and able to do so. End of life care plans include people's thoughts, feelings and wishes to ensure their passing is comfortable, pain free and as peaceful as possible.

The service continued to be well-led. The registered manager and wider management team promoted a person-centred culture that was open and honest. People, relatives and staff were valued and listened to. There were effective systems in place to monitor and improve the service. Systems included gaining feedback from people and relatives about the quality of the service and drive improvements.

Further information is in the detailed findings below.