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Inspection on 18/05/10 for Almond Villas

Also see our care home review for Almond Villas for more information

This is the latest available inspection report for this service, carried out on 18th May 2010.

CQC found this care home to be providing an Excellent service.

The inspector made no statutory requirements on the home as a result of this inspection and there were no outstanding actions from the previous inspection report.

What follows are excerpts from this inspection report. For more information read the full report on the next tab.

What the care home does well

We used a system called "case tracking". This is a way of inspecting that lets us to look at services from the point of view of some of the people who use them. We track people`s care to see whether the service meets their individual needs. The registered manager and team of support workers ensure that significant time and effort is spent planning to make admission to the home personal and well managed. The pre admission process must be followed by all referring agencies and professionals and must provide the service with a needs assessment detailing the full care needs of the prospective resident. Admission to the service will not be considered without there being a full needs assessment. In addition to this the registered manager and staff team ensure that a comprehensive service needs assessment is completed to determine if support workers at the home have the right skills and knowledge to fully meet the prospective resident`s needs and support them to achieve their full potential. New people to the service can be introduced gradually to other people who use the service and the routines in the home. Key support workers are assigned to the person so that a contact person is available to answer any questions about life at the home. All people using the service receive an agreed contact that contains clear information about the fees and charges made to them. The key worker, manager or relative explains the contents of the contract so that they fully understand the information. Support workers are fully committed in supporting the people using the service to make their own decisions. We looked at care plans that belonged to two people using the service. Each care plan was up to date and person centred. Each care plan had been developed with the person using the service, focusing on their goals, aspirations and positive outcomes. Both care plans seen were comprehensive describing the the persons life needs and how these were met through different types of support from people like health professionals, relatives and support workers. The care plan seen had been reviewed regularly to reflect the persons changing needs and contained comprehensive risk assessments to support the persons daily living activities. Details about health care including GP, Dentist, Community Psychiatric Nurse and Optician contact were recorded thoroughly and clearly in the care plan. We talked to the registered manager about the significant events form. This form is used to record individual events, achievements and challenges of people using the service. Wenoticed the form did not show which identified goal the event related to and therefore didn`t fully show the outcome of some of the identified goals. The manager said that she would amend the significant events form so that the outcomes for people using the service would show that people`s needs and goals were actually being met. There is a strong management commitment strongly promoting the importance of respecting the human rights of people using the service with fairness equality and respect and this is central to the care provided. All people using the service have an individual activity plan that reflects their individual needs, gender and age. Both activity plans examined contained robust risk assessments that related to the activity. Both documents were reviewed regularly and encouraged a wide range of opportunities like visits to places of interest, swimming, bowling and cycling, educational courses at the local college and introductions to employment where people were able. This means that people using the service were able to maintain social and independent living skills and maintain their place in the local community. People using the service receive effective healthcare and personal support using a person centred approach through a comprehensive individual plan of care. Support workers are alerted to changes in people`s mood and behaviour and know how to respond. Medicines policy and practices are robust and efficient and safeguard the wellbeing of the people using the service. Observations and discussions with support workers confirmed they were fully compliant with administration, safekeeping and recording of all drugs including controlled drugs. All support workers have received accredited training in this area and knew where to find the homes policies, guidance and drug information. The manager and her team work to very high standards and consistently refresh their knowledge of medicines through regular contact and medicine checks with the supplying pharmacist. Currently 60% of the staff team have been trained in the safe handling of medication. We looked at the service complaints and protection procedure which was clear and uncomplicated. 80% of support workers at the home are fully trained in safeguarding and knew how to respond if they suspected abuse. The staff knowledge in this area is constantly checked during team meetings, supervision and is one of the mandatory courses they must have undertaken during the staff induction. We spoke to 3 of the people using the service who made the following comments; "All the staff are nice, I like them". "If I had a problem or complaint I`d talk to my key worker". "I know I can always tell the staff if there is anything I want to talk about". "I`d write a letter to the manager if I had a complaint". "Staff help us with budgeting, food shopping and cleaning our living areas". "We keep really busy, we go cycling and walking, its good exercise".

What the care home could do better:

The outcomes in the report show that the `Excellent` 3 star rating is still valid. We are not going to change our inspection plan and will do a key inspection by the 18th May 2011. However we can inspect the service at anytime if we have concerns about the quality of the service or safety of the people using the service.

Random inspection report Care homes for adults (18-65 years) Name: Address: Almond Villas 3-5 Dukes Brow Blackburn Lancs BB2 6EX three star excellent service The quality rating for this care home is: The rating was made on: A quality rating is our assessment of how well a care home, agency or scheme is meeting the needs of the people who use it. We give a quality rating following a full review of the service. We call this review a ‘key’ inspection. This is a report of a random inspection of this care home. A random inspection is a short, focussed review of the service. Details of how to get other inspection reports for this care home, including the last key inspection report, can be found on the last page of this report. Lead inspector: Christine Mulcahy Date: 1 8 0 5 2 0 1 0 Information about the care home Name of care home: Address: Almond Villas 3-5 Dukes Brow Blackburn Lancs BB2 6EX 01254681243 01254605038 Telephone number: Fax number: Email address: Provider web address: Name of registered provider(s): Name of registered manager (if applicable) Mrs Marilyn Clarke Type of registration: Number of places registered: Conditions of registration: Category(ies) : Mrs Marilyn Clarke care home 14 Number of places (if applicable): Under 65 Over 65 0 mental disorder, excluding learning disability or dementia Conditions of registration: 14 The registered person may provide the following category of service only: Care home only - Code PC to service users of the following gender: Either whose primary care needs on admission to the home are within the following categories: Mental disorder, excluding learning disability or dementia - Code MD The maximum number of service users who can be accommodated is: 14 Date of last inspection Brief description of the care home Almond Villas is one of a group of three care homes registered with the Commission to offer 24-hour accommodation, support and rehabilitation programmes for 14 adults with mental health needs. Almond Villas is a detached, converted property located in a residential area close to Care Homes for Adults (18-65 years) Page 2 of 9 1 3 0 2 2 0 0 9 Brief description of the care home Blackburn town centre. There is a small patio/garden area at the front entrance. There is no parking at the house but street parking is available approximately 100 yards away. The main road into Blackburn, with a bus stop, shops and other amenities is within easy walking distance. Accommodation at Almond Villas is provided in six self-contained flats. Four flats contain three single bedrooms with a shared lounge, kitchen and bathroom; the other two are single person flats. Communal areas, including a group/training room, counselling room/quiet lounge and laundry are housed in the basement. The offices and staff facilities are also on this floor and team of managers, each with designated responsibilities, share the day to day management of the three houses. . Information about the home is given to prospective residents during their trial visits. Copies of the Commissions reports are available on request. Fees are determined by a comprehensive needs assessment and can be discussed with the registered provider. There were extra charges for personal toiletries, newspapers and magazines. Residents also made a contribution to activities not included on their programme. Care Homes for Adults (18-65 years) Page 3 of 9 What we found: We carried out a short random inspection at Almond Villas 3 - 5 Dukes Brow, Blackburn on the 18th May 2010. The reason for this inspection was to check that the Excellent 3 star rating given at the last key inspection is still valid and that nothing has changed. We looked at Personal and Healthcare support Standards 18, 19, and 20 and Concerns, Complaints and Protection, Standards 22 - 23. The outcomes in the report show that the Excellent 3 star rating is still valid. What the care home does well: We used a system called case tracking. This is a way of inspecting that lets us to look at services from the point of view of some of the people who use them. We track peoples care to see whether the service meets their individual needs. The registered manager and team of support workers ensure that significant time and effort is spent planning to make admission to the home personal and well managed. The pre admission process must be followed by all referring agencies and professionals and must provide the service with a needs assessment detailing the full care needs of the prospective resident. Admission to the service will not be considered without there being a full needs assessment. In addition to this the registered manager and staff team ensure that a comprehensive service needs assessment is completed to determine if support workers at the home have the right skills and knowledge to fully meet the prospective residents needs and support them to achieve their full potential. New people to the service can be introduced gradually to other people who use the service and the routines in the home. Key support workers are assigned to the person so that a contact person is available to answer any questions about life at the home. All people using the service receive an agreed contact that contains clear information about the fees and charges made to them. The key worker, manager or relative explains the contents of the contract so that they fully understand the information. Support workers are fully committed in supporting the people using the service to make their own decisions. We looked at care plans that belonged to two people using the service. Each care plan was up to date and person centred. Each care plan had been developed with the person using the service, focusing on their goals, aspirations and positive outcomes. Both care plans seen were comprehensive describing the the persons life needs and how these were met through different types of support from people like health professionals, relatives and support workers. The care plan seen had been reviewed regularly to reflect the persons changing needs and contained comprehensive risk assessments to support the persons daily living activities. Details about health care including GP, Dentist, Community Psychiatric Nurse and Optician contact were recorded thoroughly and clearly in the care plan. We talked to the registered manager about the significant events form. This form is used to record individual events, achievements and challenges of people using the service. We Care Homes for Adults (18-65 years) Page 4 of 9 noticed the form did not show which identified goal the event related to and therefore didnt fully show the outcome of some of the identified goals. The manager said that she would amend the significant events form so that the outcomes for people using the service would show that peoples needs and goals were actually being met. There is a strong management commitment strongly promoting the importance of respecting the human rights of people using the service with fairness equality and respect and this is central to the care provided. All people using the service have an individual activity plan that reflects their individual needs, gender and age. Both activity plans examined contained robust risk assessments that related to the activity. Both documents were reviewed regularly and encouraged a wide range of opportunities like visits to places of interest, swimming, bowling and cycling, educational courses at the local college and introductions to employment where people were able. This means that people using the service were able to maintain social and independent living skills and maintain their place in the local community. People using the service receive effective healthcare and personal support using a person centred approach through a comprehensive individual plan of care. Support workers are alerted to changes in peoples mood and behaviour and know how to respond. Medicines policy and practices are robust and efficient and safeguard the wellbeing of the people using the service. Observations and discussions with support workers confirmed they were fully compliant with administration, safekeeping and recording of all drugs including controlled drugs. All support workers have received accredited training in this area and knew where to find the homes policies, guidance and drug information. The manager and her team work to very high standards and consistently refresh their knowledge of medicines through regular contact and medicine checks with the supplying pharmacist. Currently 60 of the staff team have been trained in the safe handling of medication. We looked at the service complaints and protection procedure which was clear and uncomplicated. 80 of support workers at the home are fully trained in safeguarding and knew how to respond if they suspected abuse. The staff knowledge in this area is constantly checked during team meetings, supervision and is one of the mandatory courses they must have undertaken during the staff induction. We spoke to 3 of the people using the service who made the following comments; All the staff are nice, I like them. If I had a problem or complaint Id talk to my key worker. I know I can always tell the staff if there is anything I want to talk about. Id write a letter to the manager if I had a complaint. Staff help us with budgeting, food shopping and cleaning our living areas. We keep really busy, we go cycling and walking, its good exercise. Care Homes for Adults (18-65 years) Page 5 of 9 What they could do better: If you want to know what action the person responsible for this care home is taking following this report, you can contact them using the details set out on page 2. Care Homes for Adults (18-65 years) Page 6 of 9 Are there any outstanding requirements from the last inspection? Yes £ No R Outstanding statutory requirements These are requirements that were set at the previous inspection, but have still not been met. They say what the registered person had to do to meet the Care Standards Act 2000, Regulations 2001 and the National Minimum Standards. No. Standard Regulation Requirement Timescale for action Care Homes for Adults (18-65 years) Page 7 of 9 Requirements and recommendations from this inspection: Immediate requirements: These are immediate requirements that were set on the day we visited this care home. The registered person had to meet these within 48 hours. No. Standard Regulation Requirement Timescale for action Statutory requirements These requirements set out what the registered person must do to meet the Care Standards Act 2000, Regulations 2001 and the National Minimum Standards. The registered person(s) must do this within the timescales we have set. No. Standard Regulation Requirement Timescale for action Recommendations These recommendations are taken from the best practice described in the National Minimum Standards and the registered person(s) should consider them as a way of improving their service. No Refer to Standard Good Practice Recommendations Care Homes for Adults (18-65 years) Page 8 of 9 Reader Information Document Purpose: Author: Audience: Further copies from: Inspection Report Care Quality Commission General Public 0870 240 7535 (telephone order line) Our duty to regulate social care services is set out in the Care Standards Act 2000. Copies of the National Minimum Standards –Care Homes for Adults (18-65 years) can be found at www.dh.gov.uk or got from The Stationery Office (TSO) PO Box 29, St Crispins, Duke Street, Norwich, NR3 1GN. Tel: 0870 600 5522. Online ordering from the Stationery Office is also available: www.tso.co.uk/bookshop Helpline: Telephone: 03000 616161 Email: enquiries@cqc.org.uk Web: www.cqc.org.uk We want people to be able to access this information. 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