Archived: Hexham Carntyne Residential Care Home

At our last inspection we rated the service good. At this inspection we found the evidence continued to support the rating of good and there was no evidence or information from our inspection and ongoing monitoring that demonstrated serious risks or concerns. This inspection report is written in a shorter format because our overall rating of the service has not changed since our last inspection. At this inspection we found the service remained Good.

The service had 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 2008 and associated Regulations about how the service is run.

Staff knew about safeguarding procedures, had received training and knew what to do if they had any concerns. People and their relatives reported that staff maintained their safety.

Medicines were managed appropriately, with people being given the opportunity to self-medicate where they were able.

Risk assessments were in place and these were regularly reviewed and updated as changes occurred. Personal evacuation plans detailed what staff would do in particular emergencies and fire drills had been carried out. A fire risk assessment had just been carried out and the provider was in the process of addressing the actions required. Accidents and incidents were recorded and monitored for trends occurring.

There were sufficient numbers of staff on duty. Effective recruitment and selection procedures continued to be in place. Staff were supported and had the skills and training required to adequately support the people in their care.

People are supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff support them in the least restrictive way possible; the policies and systems in the service support this practice.

Staff were aware of the dietary needs of people and support was given when required. People enjoyed the food and refreshments available. Care was person centred, planned and regularly reviewed to ensure it continued to meet people’s needs. There were activities available for people to choose from should they have wished to participate.

Good working relationships had been developed with external health care professionals, including, GPs and nurses.

We were told the staff team were very caring. We observed warmth and kindness shown to people throughout our inspection. People’s dignity, privacy and respect were maintained by staff. Staff were discreet and remembered to speak quietly when asking people about supporting them with personal care when in the company of others. People were promoted to maintain their independence and encouraged to choose what they wanted to do. .

We saw a copy of the provider’s complaints policy and procedure and people knew how to make a complaint if they needed to. The provider had received many compliments about the care and support provided by the staff.

People, relatives and staff were asked their views and played a part in the operation of the service. People and their relatives told us that all of the staff and management were approachable. They also confirmed this included the ‘sisters’ who visited regularly.

The provider had systems and procedures in place to monitor the quality of the service provided. When issues or shortfalls were identified, corrective actions were taken. The registered manager ensured statutory notifications had been completed and sent to the CQC in accordance with legal requirements and displayed the latest report as required.

Further information is in the detailed findings below.

We previously carried out an unannounced comprehensive inspection of this service on 1 and 3 December 2015. A breach of legal requirements was found. After the comprehensive inspection, the provider wrote to us to say what they would do to meet legal requirements in relation to the breach. At this inspection we found the service remained rated as good overall.

We undertook this focused inspection to check that they had followed their plan and to confirm that they now met legal requirements. This report only covers our findings in relation to those requirements. You can read the report from our last comprehensive inspection, by selecting the 'all reports' link for Hexham Carntyne Residential Care Home on our website at www.cqc.org.uk

The service had 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 2008 and associated Regulations about how the service is run.

At the last inspection we found medicines management needed to be improved. We found the provider had made improvements and implemented new medicine care plans and risk assessments. They had updated the records in connection with ‘as required’ medicines to ensure that staff had the details required to support people fully. ‘As required’ medicines are those that are needed only from time to time, for example, for pain relief. We found medicines were available, stored, administered, recorded and disposed of in line with best practice.

Staff had received training in the safeguarding of vulnerable adults and were aware of what to do in the event of concerns. Suitable recruitment practices were in place which supported safer recruitment decisions and helped to protect people from abuse.

Detailed risk assessments had been completed for each person to ensure that any hazard identified had been mitigated against, this included those in relation to medicines and falls for example. We found that these had been reviewed regularly to ensure they were up to date and still relevant.

Accidents had been recorded and monitored by the registered manager. This ensured action could be taken against any risks that may have been noted and any trends would be identified quickly.

There were enough staff on duty. Due to the recent increased needs of particular people who lived at the service, the registered manager was going to fully review staffing levels by meeting with staff to discuss and completing a further dependency tool to check. A dependency tool is a document which helps providers ensure they have enough staff on duty to meet people’s needs.

People lived in a home which was clean and tidy and we saw staff following safe hygiene practices.

Further information is found in the detailed findings attached to this summary.

We found people were involved in decisions about their care whenever possible and their privacy and dignity was respected.

We found people's needs were assessed and care and treatment was planned and delivered in line with their individual care plans. We observed that relationships between staff and people appeared to be good and people looked well-presented and well cared for.

We saw that the provider had a safeguarding policy in place which detailed the action to be taken should staff have concerns about care or witness a safeguarding incident.

There were enough qualified, skilled and experienced staff to meet people's needs. One person said, 'All the girls are lovely, they are always around to help us.'

Records contained accurate and appropriate information.

People and staff told us that consent was gained before care was delivered.

We found that people's needs were assessed and care and treatment was planned and delivered in line with their individual care plans. One person said, "They do everything they can to be helpful, it's an absolutely super service." We found staff were knowledgeable about people's care requirements.

We saw that the building and grounds were well maintained and designed to be accessible to all people.

Appropriate checks were undertaken before staff began work.

The provider had a complaints system in place and acted on comments and complaints received. People confirmed they were given the opportunity to comment on the service, change their routines or raise complaints.

Records were not always maintained to an appropriate standard, which meant we were not able to confirm whether people's care and support needs were actually met.