Archived: Pals Residential Care

Updated 27 September 2017

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 10 February 2017 and also considered concerns raised by the local authority about people’s care. The inspection team comprised of two inspectors.

Before the inspection, we reviewed the information we held about the home and looked at the notifications the provider had sent us. A notification is information about important events which the provider is required to send us by law.

During the inspection, we spoke with seven people who lived at the home. We spoke with two care staff and the manager.

We looked at two records about people’s care, a record of staff training, the provider’s policies and procedures, the statement of purpose and medicine records for four people.

Updated 27 September 2017

The inspection was unannounced and took place on 18 July 2017.

Pals Residential Care is registered to provide accommodation and personal care for adults who require care and who may have a dementia related illness for a maximum of 14 people. There were 10 people living at the home on the day of the inspection. There was a registered manager in place but they no longer worked at the home. 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.

During our inspection we observed staff were available to provide advice or guidance that reduced people’s risks. The knowledge staff had about people had not been recorded to ensure there was consistent care for people.

People received their medicines as prescribed and at the correct time. However, we found systems and processes needed to be improved. Staff had not always followed safe practices when administering people’s medicines.

Staff had not been provided with training that reflected the needs of people who lived at the home. The training information showed that staffs knowledge had not been updated since 2012. People told us and we saw their privacy and dignity were respected and staff were kind to them. However, on occasions we saw people had not always received support to have their dignity respected.

People had not always been involved in the planning of their care due and have accurate records of their care kept. People had access to other healthcare professionals that provided treatment, advice and guidance to support their health needs. This information had not always been followed by the staff or recorded.

People had not always been supported to maintain their hobbies and interests or live in an environment that supported their needs. The provider had not been able to review any concerns raised as no records had been kept. Information was not available for the provider to improve the service.

We found quality monitoring systems failed to be operated effectively to ensure risks were identified and mitigated. The documentation was not up to date and accurate and the quality of the service had not been able to improve. We viewed care documentation and found this was not always accurate, complete and reflective of people’s needs.

People told us they felt safe and free from the potential risk of abuse. Staff told us about how they supported people’s safety. People told us there were enough staff to support them. Staff told us they had time to meet the needs of people living at the home.

People told us they liked the staff and felt they knew how to look after them and were included in day to day decisions about their care and support. People were supported to eat and drink enough to keep them healthy, but more support with choices at mealtimes were needed.

Full information about CQC’s regulatory response to any concerns found during inspections is added to reports after any representations and appeals have been concluded.