24 October 2016
During a routine inspection
On the 26 August 2015 we carried out an announced comprehensive inspection of the service. We found that the service did not always have comprehensive individual risk assessments in place for people, did not have systems in place for financial records to be checked, support plans did not provide information about how to meet people’s individual needs in a personalised manner, records were not always up to date, and quality assurance systems were not always effective. We issued four requirement actions.
We found some improvements had been made at this inspection. People’s care files included assessments which identified how to manage and identify risks. Support plans were now planned and assessed in a personalised manner designed to meet the needs of individuals. Support plans and risk assessments were being completed regularly. The service now had a policy and procedure on staff handling people’s finances. However the service did not have effective quality assurance and monitoring systems in place. In addition, staff were not aware how to identify potential abuse.
There was a registered manager at the service at the time of our inspection. 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.
Staff received regular training and were knowledgeable about their roles and responsibilities. Staff knew the people they were supporting and provided a personalised service. People were cared for by sufficient numbers of suitably qualified staff. Recruitment and selection procedures were in place and appropriate checks had been undertaken before staff began work.
The registered manager was open and supportive. Staff felt able to speak with the registered manager.
Whilst we found evidence to demonstrate that most of our concerns had been addressed, we found two breaches of the legal requirement because improvements were insufficient and further concerns were identified. We found two breaches of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014. You can see what action we told the provider to take at the back of the full version of this report.