Background to this inspection
Updated
17 March 2020
The inspection
We carried out this inspection under Section 60 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (the Act) as part of our regulatory functions. We checked whether the provider was meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Act. We looked at the overall quality of the service and provided a rating for the service under the Care Act 2014.
Inspection team
This inspection was carried out by two inspectors.
Service and service type
Park House is a ‘care home’. People in care homes receive accommodation and nursing or personal care as a single package under one contractual agreement. CQC regulates both the premises and the care provided, and both were looked at during this inspection.
The service had a manager registered with the Care Quality Commission. The registered manager was also the provider for the service. This means they are legally responsible for how the service is run and for the quality and safety of the care provided.
Notice of inspection
This inspection was unannounced.
What we did before the inspection
The provider was not asked to complete a provider information return prior to this inspection. This is information we require providers to send us to give some key information about the service, what the service does well and improvements they plan to make. We reviewed information we had received about the service since the last inspection. We sought feedback from commissioners and professionals who work with the service including Healthwatch Milton Keynes. Healthwatch is an independent consumer champion that gathers and represents the views of the public about health and social care services in England. We took all this information into account when we inspected the service and made the judgements in this report.
During the inspection
We spoke with five people who used the service and four relatives about their experience of the care provided. We spoke with two visiting professionals, eight members of staff which included care workers, senior care workers, the cook and registered manager. The service provides care for people living with dementia. 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 reviewed a range of records. This included three people’s care records and multiple medication records. We looked at two staff files in relation to recruitment and staff supervision. We reviewed a variety of records relating to the oversight and management of the service, training records and policies and procedures.
Updated
17 March 2020
About the service
Park House is a residential care home providing personal and nursing care to 35 people aged 65 and over. At the time of the inspection the service was providing care for 23 people.
Park House accommodates people in one adapted building. Since the last inspection a new area of the home has been built to provide care for people living with dementia.
People’s experience of using this service and what we found
The service had a positive ethos and an open culture. The registered manager was approachable, understood the needs of people, and listened to staff. Systems to monitor the quality of the service were in place, they were used to develop the service and drive improvement.
People’s safety was promoted by staff who followed guidance on how to reduce potential risk. People were protected from the risk of harm and received their prescribed medicines safely. People were supported by sufficient numbers of staff who were safely recruited.
Assessments of individual care needs took place alongside people, so their expectations and preferences were recorded. Assessments included consideration of people’s cultural and diversity needs
People were supported to have maximum choice and control of their life and staff supported them in the least restrictive way possible and in their best interests; the policies and systems in the service supported this practice.
People were supported by staff who had the necessary skills and knowledge. Staff were supported through ongoing training and supervision to enable them to provide good quality care. Staff promoted people’s physical and mental health by liaising with health and social care professionals when required.
People spoke positively about the support they received and told us staff were caring and kind. Staff treated people with respect and maintained their dignity.
People and family members were involved in the development of care plans, which enabled staff to provide the care and support each person had agreed was appropriate to them.
Information was provided to people in an accessible format to enable them to make decisions about their care and support. People knew how to raise a concern or make a complaint, and the provider had systems in place to respond to any complaints received.
The registered manager and staff team were aware of their roles and responsibilities. The registered manager worked with key stakeholders to facilitate good quality care for people.
For more details, please see the full report which is on the CQC website at www.cqc.org.uk
Rating at last inspection
The last rating for this service was good (published 14 August 2017).
Why we inspected
This was a planned unannounced inspection based on the previous rating.
Follow up
We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service until we return to visit as per our re-inspection programme. If we receive any concerning information we may inspect sooner.