Archived: Ringshill Care Home

Updated 6 July 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 unannounced inspection took place on 2 June 2016 and was undertaken by two inspectors and an expert by experience. An expert by experience is a person who has personal experience of using or caring for someone who uses this type of care service. Their area of expertise was in caring for older people and those living with dementia.

Before the inspection the registered provider completed a Provider Information Return (PIR). This is a form that asks the registered provider to give some key information about the service, what it does well and improvements they plan to make. The registered provider returned the PIR and we took this into account when we made judgements in this report. We also looked at the number and type of notifications submitted to the Care Quality Commission. A notification is information about important events which the provider is required to tell us about by law.

During the inspection we spoke with 12 people living at the service, four visiting relatives, the manager, two registered nurses, three care staff, an activities staff member, the deputy chef and maintenance person. We spoke with a visiting health care professional. We also spoke with representatives of the charity involved in supporting people’s exercise and cognitive therapy.

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 also undertook general observations of people’s care to assist us in understanding the quality of care people received.

We looked at six people’s care records, the minutes of residents’, managers’ and staff meetings. We also looked at medicine administration records and records in relation to the management of the service such fire and health and safety procedures. We also looked at staff recruitment, supervision and appraisal process records, training records, complaints and quality assurance records.

Updated 6 July 2016

Ringshill Care Home is registered to provide accommodation and nursing care for up to 87 people. At the time of our inspection there were 52 people living at the service. The service is located in the town of Huntingdon close to local shops, amenities and facilities. The service has two storeys which people can access by stairs or a passenger lift.

This unannounced inspection took place on 2 June 2016.

The service had a manager in post but they were not yet registered as a registered manager. The previous registered manager left in October 2014. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission (CQC) 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.

Staff had been trained in the identification and reporting about any, or potential incident of harm. People’s assessed needs were met by sufficient staff who responded promptly to people’s requests for assistance.

Satisfactory pre-employment checks were undertaken to help ensure that staff were deemed suitable to work at, and care for, people using the service.

People’s medicines were administered and managed safely. Staff were trained and assessed as competent to ensure their standards of medicines administration was safe. Staff were supported with an effective induction process until they were confident to work more independently

Risk assessments to help safely support people with risks to their health were in place and these were up-to-date and reviewed according to the risk each person presented.

The CQC is required by law to monitor the operation of the Mental Capacity Act 2005 (MCA) and Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS) and to report on what we find. The manager and staff were knowledgeable about when an assessment of people’s mental capacity was required. Appropriate applications had been made by the manager to lawfully deprive people of their liberty. Any person’s restrictions on their liberty were in the least restive way.

People were offered choices of the foods and drinks they preferred and they had sufficient quantities including those people who required a soft food or pureed diet. This included a choice of appropriate diets for those people at an increased risk of malnutrition, dehydration or weight loss. People‘s individual health care needs were identified and met.

People’s care and health needs were met by staff in a compassionate way. People and if necessary their relatives were involved in the review of their/their family members individual care plans.

People were provided with information on accessing independent advocacy if any person required this support.

People were given various opportunities to help identify and make key changes or suggestions about any aspects of their care. A complaints process was in place which people had used and their concerns had been responded to.

A range of effective audit and quality assurance procedures were in place. The manager saw innovation as something that was a day to day ambition. People, relatives, friends, volunteers and charities were involved in developing the service. Updates to people’s care was shared through a range of forums including residents’, managers’ and staff meetings.