Archived: Broadview

Updated 29 February 2016

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 home under the Care Act 2014.

The inspection took place on the 5 November 2015 and was unannounced. The inspection team consisted of one inspector. Before the inspection we reviewed previous inspection reports and notifications. A notification is information about important events which the home is required to send us by law. We looked at safeguarding and whistleblowing information we had received.

We also spoke with three staff including a support worker, the homes Housing Coordinator and the registered manager. We spoke to one person who lived in the home. We contacted health and social care professionals to obtain feedback about their experience of the home.

We observed care and support being provided. We looked at records held by the provider and care records held in the home. These included two people’s care records, risk assessments, staff rotas, three staff recruitment records, meeting minutes, policies and procedures, satisfaction surveys and other management records.

Updated 29 February 2016

The inspection was carried out on the 5 November 2015 and was unannounced.

Broadview provides accommodation for three people with learning and physical difficulties, who require personal care and support. The accommodation is provided in a single storey detached bungalow. There is a communal living room, kitchen, three bedrooms and communal bathroom. Outside there is a good size garden which people have access to. There were three people living in the home when we inspected.

A previous inspection took place on 9 September 2014 and found concerns over Safeguarding people who use services from abuse, management of medicines and assessing and monitoring the quality of service provision. We asked the provider to take action. At this inspection we found improvements had been made.

There was a registered manager employed at the home. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission to manage the home. 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 home is run.

People at the home told us that they felt safe. There were safeguarding policies and procedures in place that were being followed and staff were fully aware of their responsibilities in reporting safeguarding incidents and what the procedures were for this. There was a whistleblowing policy in place and staff told us they knew how to use it if they needed to.

Recruitment practices were not always robust. The provider’s policy was to only explore the last 5 years in employment history and there were large gaps in employment history on some staff files. We have made a recommendation about this.

There was no formal way of assessing dependency levels of people living in the home in order to determine the correct staffing levels to meet people’s assessed needs. Some people required one to one care. Staffing rotas showed that at night there was only one member of staff on duty but they had access to an on call system if they needed assistance.

People had been involved in planning for their care needs. Care plans provided information and guidance for staff on how to support people to meet their needs. Risk assessments were robust; clearly identify risks and what to do to mitigate those risks.

Staff had received training specific to people’s health needs, such as training in administration of epilepsy medication and PEG feeding. Training considered mandatory by the provider was up to date for all staff.

The Care Quality Commission (CQC) monitors the operation of the Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS) which applies to care homes. The registered manager and staff had a clear understanding of the Mental Capacity Act 2005 and the Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards. Staff had received training on Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards and the Mental Capacity Act 2005. Care plans evidenced that people’s capacity was taken into account and how this affected the care they received from the home.

There were policies and procedures in place for the safe use and administration of medicines. People had access to GPs and other health care professionals. Prompt referrals were made for access to specialist health care professionals.

People were supported to help themselves to snacks and drinks throughout the day. Staff told us that people were involved in choosing what they wanted to eat by helping order the food shopping on line. People with special dietary requirements were catered for.

Some people had lived at the home for a very long time and staff knew them very well. We saw and heard staff engage in meaningful and kind conversations with people.

Some people were encouraged to be independent, but there was no evidence that people who were less mobile were encouraged to be independent.

There was a clear, easy read complaints policy and procedure in place but not all details of the relevant authorities were included. We have made a recommendation about this.

The registered provider had sought the views of people living in the home as well as other stakeholders. The results of the latest survey were used to make necessary improvements.

The quality assurance and monitoring systems in place were robust and allowed the registered manager to established areas that needed improvement. Action plans had been drawn up from the audits and the registered manager was making required improvements.

Staff talked about an open culture and promoting the visions and values of the home. The registered manager was aware of their responsibilities in reporting to CQC and was up to date with current legislation. They kept up to date with best practice and proactively researched their field to make improvements to the lives of people living at the home.

We found a breach 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.