Archived: Abiden Care

Abiden Care is a residential care home providing personal care and support to 22 people aged 65 and over, some of who were living with dementia. The service does not provide nursing care. At the time of the inspection, there were 22 people living in the home.

The home is an older style property located in a residential area in Burnley. Accommodation is provided in 18 single rooms and two shared rooms on two floors, 10 of the bedrooms have an ensuite facility. CCTV was in operation in the communal areas of the home.

Prior to the inspection, we were made aware of changes to the registration of the home. In the absence of the provider, there was a nominated personal representative and the registered manager who were taking reasonable action to ensure the service was registered with us.

People’s experience of using this service and what we found

People were happy about the care and support they received and with the way the home was managed. They made positive comments about the management team and staff. People’s views about the quality of care provided were used to make improvements to the service. The quality of the service was monitored, and appropriate action was taken to improve the service when needed. Improvements to the monitoring systems were being made. Lessons had been learned and shared with staff when things went wrong.

People felt safe and described staff as kind, friendly and caring. Staff understood how to protect people from abuse. Risk assessments were carried out to enable people to retain their independence and receive care with minimum risk to themselves or others. We observed staff responding to difficult situations in a calm and patient manner and records showed appropriate action had been taken to respond to any incidents.

Recruitment processes ensured new staff were suitable to work in the home and there were enough numbers of staff to meet people's needs and ensure their safety; new staff were being recruited. People had no concerns about the care they or their relatives received. People received their medicines when they needed them from staff who had been trained and had their competency checked.

People were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff supported them in the least restrictive way possible; the policies and systems in the service supported this practice. People's care needs were assessed prior to them living in the home.

Staff received induction training and ongoing training, supervision and support. They felt valued and supported and enjoyed working at the home. People enjoyed the meals. They were supported to eat a nutritionally balanced diet and had access to various healthcare professionals, when needed.

Staff treated people with dignity, respect care and kindness and knew people well. We observed staff were busy and we observed positive, caring and warm interactions between staff and people. Staff spoke with people in a friendly and patient manner and we overheard laughter and friendly banter. Staff knew about people’s routines and preferences and people told us they received the care they needed and wanted. People or their relatives, where appropriate, had been consulted about care needs.

People enjoyed activities and entertainments. Links with local community groups were being further developed to enhance people’s lives. People were supported to maintain contact with their friends and family and friendships had developed within the service. People could raise any complaints or concerns if they needed to and knew who to speak with.

People were happy with their bedrooms and with the communal areas. Communal areas were comfortable, clean and bright, bathrooms were appropriately adapted and there was access to outside seating areas. The home was on different levels and the stairs were steep which could present a mobility risk for some people; chair lifts were available. Some areas of the home needed attention. However, action was being taken to address the shortfalls. An improvement plan had been developed to ensure ongoing refurbishment and redecoration.

For more details, please see the full report which is on the CQC website at www.cqc.org.uk

Rating at last inspection

The last rating for this service was Good (published 06 May 2017).

Why we inspected

This was a planned inspection based on the previous rating.

Follow up

We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service until we return to visit as per our re-inspection programme. If we receive any concerning information we may inspect sooner.

Abiden Care provides accommodation and personal care for up to 22 older people. The home provides accommodation in 18 single rooms and two shared rooms on two floors. Ten of the bedrooms have an ensuite facility which includes a toilet and hand wash basin. There are two stair lifts which facilitate access between the floors. At the time of the inspection there were 22 people accommodated in the home.

The service had a registered manager in post. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission (CQC) to manage the service. Like registered providers ('the provider'), 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 our last inspection on 2 and 3 June 2015, we asked the provider to ensure people received safe care and treatment and ensure records were made of observations following an accident. We also asked the provider to make improvements to the maintenance of care records. Following the inspection, the provider sent us an action plan which set out what action they intended to take to improve the service. During this inspection, we found improvements had been made in order to meet the regulations.

People living in the home said they felt safe and staff treated them well. There were sufficient staff deployed in the home to meet people's care and support needs. Appropriate recruitment procedures were followed to ensure prospective staff were suitable to work in the home. Safeguarding adults’ procedures were in place and staff understood their responsibilities to safeguard people from abuse. Risks associated with people’s care were identified and assessed. People's medicines were managed appropriately and according to the records seen people received their medicines as prescribed by health care professionals.

Staff had completed an induction programme when they started work and they were up to date with the provider's mandatory training. The registered manager and staff understood the Mental Capacity Act 2005 (MCA) and the Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS) and acted according to this legislation. There were appropriate arrangements in place to support people to have a varied and healthy diet. People had access to a GP and other health care professionals when they needed them.

Staff treated people in a respectful and dignified manner and people's privacy was respected. People living in the home had been consulted about their care needs and had been involved in the care planning process. We observed people were happy, comfortable and relaxed with staff. Care plans and risk assessments were person centred and provided guidance for staff on how to meet people’s needs and preferences. There were established arrangements in place to ensure the care plans were reviewed and updated regularly. People were encouraged to remain as independent as possible and were supported to participate in a variety of daily activities. People were also offered the opportunity to go on regular trips in the community.

The registered manager was well respected and provided strong, supportive leadership to her team. Systems were in place to monitor the quality of the service provided and ensure people received safe and effective care. These included seeking and responding to feedback from people in relation to the standard of care.

We looked at four staff files in detail and noted the necessary checks and documentation had been obtained prior to staff commencing work in the home. This ensured staff were suitably qualified and skilled to carry out their role safely and effectively.

People's care was planned and delivered in accordance with their needs. People had individual care plans which were supported by a series of risk assessments and daily care records. We looked at three people's care plans during the visit and noted they were comprehensive and covered all aspects of need.

However, we found significant shortfalls in the planning and delivery of one former resident's care, including the failure to carry out an assessment of the person's needs when their status changed in the home and the failure to assess the risks associated with using equipment in the home. This meant the provider had not taken proper steps to ensure the person's welfare and safety.

At the time of the inspection, people's care was planned and delivered in accordance with their needs. Additional risk assessments had also been carried out and placed on people's personal files in order to provide guidance for staff on managing risks.

People were provided with suitable equipment which had been maintained and serviced on a regular basis.

People spoken with said there was a sufficient number of staff on duty and made positive comments about the approach taken by staff. Staff were provided with appropriate training and were supported by the management team.

There were systems in place to monitor the quality of the service, which included seeking the views of people living in the home.

People's care was planned and delivered in accordance with their needs. People had individual care plans which were supported by a series of risk assessments and daily care records. This meant people's care could be readily monitored and evaluated.

Staff had an understanding of safeguarding procedures and knew who to contact in the event of a concern.

The recruitment and selection processes for new staff had been revised and we found all checks had been carried out on new employees in line with legal requirements.

We found there were appropriate systems to monitor the quality and operation of the service, which included annual customer satisfaction questionnaires.