Archived: Stuart House

Updated 7 August 2015

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 was meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Health and Social Care Act 2014 and to look at the overall quality of the service, and to provide a rating for the service under the Care Act 2014.

This visit took place on 9 July 2015 and was carried out by one inspector. The visit was unannounced.

Before our inspection we reviewed information we held about the service including statutory notifications relating to the service. Statutory notifications include information about important events which the provider is required to send us. Before the inspection, we asked the provider to complete a provider information return (PIR). This is a form that asks the provider to give some key information about the service which includes the service does well and improvements they plan to make.

During the inspection we spoke with eight people who lived at the service, two relatives, four members of staff, the registered manager and the provider. We received feedback from health and social care professionals. We viewed three people’s support plans and three staff files. We observed staff practice in the communal areas.

Updated 7 August 2015

This inspection was carried out on 9 July 2015 and was unannounced.

Stuart House provides accommodation and personal care for up to 38 older people. There were 30 people living at the home at the time of our inspection. 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 and associated Regulations about how the service is run.

When we last inspected the service on 18 November 2013 we found them to be meeting the required standards. At this inspection we found that they were not meeting all of the fundamental standards and were in breach of regulations 12 of the Health and Social Care Act (Regulated Activities) 2014

Care Quality Commission (CQC) is required to monitor the operation of the Mental Capacity Act (2005) (MCA) and Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS) and to report on what we find. DoLS are put in place to protect people where they do not have capacity to make decisions and where it is considered necessary to restrict their freedom in some way, usually to protect themselves or others. At this inspection we found that the home worked in accordance with current legislation but there were some areas that required improvement.

People received care that met their needs and they were positive about the staff that supported them. However, we found that care plans, which included people’s risk assessments, were not always up to date or robustly assessed.

Staff knew people well and were attentive to the needs. There were effective relationships between people and the staff who supported them.

People were supported to eat and drink sufficient amounts and had regular access to health care professionals. However, medicines were not managed safely and further training for staff was needed in some subjects.

People, their relatives and staff were positive about the management team. However, systems to monitor the quality of the service and address issues needed improvement.