Inspection on 27/04/09 for Highmead House

This is the latest available inspection report for this service, carried out on 27th April 2009.

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

The inspector found no outstanding requirements from the previous inspection report, but made 1 statutory requirements (actions the home must comply with) as a result of this inspection.

Other inspections for this house

Highmead House 28/10/05

Highmead House 12/05/05

Highmead House 11/11/04

Highmead House 29/06/04

Similar services:

Byars Care Home

St Marys Nursing Home

Bramble Lodge

Parkmanor Residential Home

Thornham Grove

Hunter`s Lodge

London Road Neurological and Specialist Care Unit

Carlton Care Home

Extracts from inspection reports are licensed from CQC, this page was updated on 09/07/2009.

Inspecting for better lives Key inspection report Care homes for older people Name: Address: Highmead House 153 Finedon Road Irthlingborough Northants NN9 5TY     The quality rating for this care home is:   three star excellent service 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 assessment of the service. We call this a ‘key’ inspection. Lead inspector: Keith Williamson     Date: 2 7 0 4 2 0 0 9 This is a report of an inspection where we looked at how well this care home is meeting the needs of people who use it. There is a summary of what we think this service does well, what they have improved on and, where it applies, what they need to do better. We use the national minimum standards to describe the outcomes that people should experience. National minimum standards are written by the Department of Health for each type of care service. After the summary there is more detail about our findings. The following table explains what you will see under each outcome area. Outcome area (for example Choice of home) These are the outcomes that people staying in care homes should experience. that people have said are important to them: They reflect the things This box tells you the outcomes that we will always inspect against when we do a key inspection. This box tells you any additional outcomes that we may inspect against when we do a key inspection. This is what people staying in this care home experience: Judgement: This box tells you our opinion of what we have looked at in this outcome area. We will say whether it is excellent, good, adequate or poor. Evidence: This box describes the information we used to come to our judgement. Copies of the National Minimum Standards – Care Homes for Older People can be found at www.dh.gov.uk or bought 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 The Commission for Social Care Inspection aims to: • • • • Put the people who use social care first Improve services and stamp out bad practice Be an expert voice on social care Practise what we preach in our own organisation Our duty to regulate social care services is set out in the Care Standards Act 2000. Care Homes for Older People Page 2 of 23 Reader Information Document Purpose Author Audience Further copies from Copyright Inspection report CSCI General public 0870 240 7535 (telephone order line) Copyright © (2009) Commission for Social Care Inspection (CSCI). This publication may be reproduced in whole or in part, free of charge, in any format or medium provided that it is not used for commercial gain. This consent is subject to the material being reproduced accurately and on proviso that it is not used in a derogatory manner or misleading context. The material should be acknowledged as CSCI copyright, with the title and date of publication of the document specified. www.cqc.org.uk Internet address Care Homes for Older People Page 3 of 23 Information about the care home Name of care home: Address: Highmead House 153 Finedon Road Irthlingborough Northants NN9 5TY 01933650244 01933653744 office@highmead.demon.co.uk Telephone number: Fax number: Email address: Provider web address: Name of registered provider(s): Type of registration: Number of places registered: Mrs Gillian Waller care home 32 Conditions of registration: Category(ies) : Number of places (if applicable): Under 65 dementia old age, not falling within any other category Additional conditions: Date of last inspection Brief description of the care home Highmead is a privately owned residential care home providing personal care for up to 32 persons with old age over the age of 65 years. Within this total up to 5 persons with dementia can be provided with personal care. The home is situated approximately 1 mile outside of Irthlingborough in a quiet location. The grounds are extensive with a car park area to the rear of the building. The gardens are well maintained and are accessible for the residents of the home. Highmead offers mainly single accommodation over two floors with lift access to the 1st floor. Available for the residents are a number of communal areas including a conservatory. The interior of the home continues to be maintained to a high standard. 0 0 Over 65 5 27 Care Homes for Older People Page 4 of 23 Brief description of the care home Currently the weekly fees range from £355 to £470. Care Homes for Older People Page 5 of 23 Summary This is an overview of what we found during the inspection. The quality rating for this care home is: Our judgement for each outcome: three star excellent service Choice of home Health and personal care Daily life and social activities Complaints and protection Environment Staffing Management and administration peterchart Poor Adequate Good Excellent How we did our inspection: The focus of the inspection is on outcomes for residents and their views of the service provided. The main method of Inspection used was case tracking which involves selecting a sample number of people and tracking the care they received through talking with them where possible, and looking at their records and accommodation, in this case two residents were chosen. This visit took place over one day, commencing at 9.30am and took six hours to complete. An opportunity was taken to talk with residents, manager and staff, look around the home, view records, policies and care plans. Residents were spoken with, and some made comments that have been included in this report. Information was obtained from the Annual Quality Assurance Assessment, which gives details about the home, and is filled in by the registered manager. A copy of the last Care Quality Commission (formerly the CSCI Commission For Social Care Inspection) report is displayed at the homes office, and copies of this report are available from the registered manager. Care Homes for Older People Page 6 of 23 The quality rating for this service is 3 star. This means the people who use this service experience excellent quality outcomes. What the care home does well: What has improved since the last inspection? What they could do better: If you want to know what action the person responsible for this care home is taking Care Homes for Older People Page 8 of 23 following this report, you can contact them using the details set out on page 4. The report of this inspection is available from our website www.cqc.org.uk. You can get printed copies from enquiries@cqc.org.uk or by telephoning our order line –0870 240 7535. Care Homes for Older People Page 9 of 23 Details of our findings Contents Choice of home (standards 1 - 6) Health and personal care (standards 7 - 11) Daily life and social activities (standards 12 - 15) Complaints and protection (standards 16 - 18) Environment (standards 19 - 26) Staffing (standards 27 - 30) Management and administration (standards 31 - 38) Outstanding statutory requirements Requirements and recommendations from this inspection Care Homes for Older People Page 10 of 23 Choice of home These are the outcomes that people staying in care homes should experience. They reflect the things that people have said are important to them: People are confident that the care home can support them. This is because there is an accurate assessment of their needs that they, or people close to them, have been involved in. This tells the home all about them and the support they need. People who stay at the home only for intermediate care, have a clear assessment that includes a plan on what they hope for and want to achieve when they return home. People can decide whether the care home can meet their support and accommodation needs. This is because they, or people close to them, have been able to visit the home and have got full, clear, accurate and up to date information about the home. If they decide to stay in the home they know about their rights and responsibilities because there is an easy to understand contract or statement of terms and conditions between them and the care home that includes how much they will pay and what the home provides for the money. This is what people staying in this care home experience: Judgement: People using this service experience excellent quality outcomes in this area. We have made this judgement using a range of evidence, including a visit to this service. The assessment process is detailed and effective resulting in accurate information for residents and staff. Evidence: The staff have developed a comprehensive Statement of Purpose and Service User Guide, these documents are used to give information about the service to people considering a move into the home. The information included gives people the latest Quality Assurance feedback. This is information collated from questionnaires completed by people living in the home, their relatives and other interested parties such as General Practitioners and District Nurses. All of the peoples files included a signed contract or terms and conditions, a copy of which was also included in the Service User Guide. Pre admission assessments were completed, and additional information was gathered from the relatives of the people concerned. This gave a detailed picture of the person, and comprehensive information for the staff on which to base their care plan. Care Homes for Older People Page 11 of 23 Evidence: People commented on the visit, I visited several homes before I settled on this one; and its not your own home, but its as good as it gets. The home does not offer Intermediate Care, which is a special type of care offered, following a hospital discharge. Care Homes for Older People Page 12 of 23 Health and personal care These are the outcomes that people staying in care homes should experience. They reflect the things that people have said are important to them: People’s health, personal and social care needs are met. The home has a plan of care that the person, or someone close to them, has been involved in making. If they take medicine, they manage it themselves if they can. If they cannot manage their medicine, the care home supports them with it, in a safe way. People’s right to privacy is respected and the support they get from staff is given in a way that maintains their dignity. If people are approaching the end of their life, the care home will respect their choices and help them feel comfortable and secure. They, and people close to them, are reassured that their death will be handled with sensitivity, dignity and respect, and take account of their spiritual and cultural wishes. This is what people staying in this care home experience: Judgement: People using this service experience good quality outcomes in this area. We have made this judgement using a range of evidence, including a visit to this service. Peoples health and personal care are sufficient to ensure people are safely cared for. Evidence: The care plans for residents are well written and easy to understand, with detailed daily records and and further periodic records charting peoples care. There are currently no photographs on either care or medication records, these could be put in place and would assist newer staff in recognising residents. The hand written care plan is made up from a number of documents that cover in detail the care needed by the person. Risk assessments have been introduced since the last visit to the home. Residents healthcare is good with evidence of recent health checks with the General Practitioner. Medication is well administered, with accurate recording of medicines received and disposed off, and there are regular medication audits, which ensures the ongoing safety of medicines given in the home. The recording of a certain type of medication, needs to be made more detailed, this was discussed with staff at the time. Residents when spoken with agreed the staff recognised their privacy, by indicating Care Homes for Older People Page 13 of 23 Evidence: staff knocked and waited prior to entering private areas of the home. People commented on the visit they always look the other way when I am getting out of the bath, Ive been here for a number of years, I do enjoy it here. Care Homes for Older People Page 14 of 23 Daily life and social activities These are the outcomes that people staying in care homes should experience. They reflect the things that people have said are important to them: Each person is treated as an individual and the care home is responsive to his or her race, culture, religion, age, disability, gender and sexual orientation. They are part of their local community. The care home supports people to follow personal interests and activities. People are able to keep in touch with family, friends and representatives. They are as independent as they can be, lead their chosen lifestyle and have the opportunity to make the most of their abilities. People have nutritious and attractive meals and snacks, at a time and place to suit them. There are no additional outcomes. This is what people staying in this care home experience: Judgement: People using this service experience good quality outcomes in this area. We have made this judgement using a range of evidence, including a visit to this service. People have a number of choices in the activities, social care and meals resulting in them being satisfied with that on offer. Evidence: Activities are provided on a regular basis, and people have individual information regarding the activities and pastimes, they participate in. There is an activities plan produced in advance so people know what is on offer on any particular day. There is some evidence of activities being completed with individual people and small groups, offering a more personalised service. People have a number of choices in the home, residents indicated flexibility in times of rising and going to bed, meals and activities. Breakfast is usually served on individual trays in peoples bedrooms. One person commented, I like it in my room, it means I can take my time in getting dressed. Other people commented on the visit you dont have a choice (of meal) at lunch time, but they know what I dont like and offer me an alternative, we had a quiz today, though I prefer the magnetic darts, the staff are nice, and very helpful, we get some good service and good food, we do keep fit once a week, we do it sitting down, we go out for a drive now and again, I dont like going when its cold, they go to a great deal of effort, Xmas time is wonderful, time goes so quick. Care Homes for Older People Page 15 of 23 Complaints and protection These are the outcomes that people staying in care homes should experience. They reflect the things that people have said are important to them: If people have concerns with their care, they or people close to them know how to complain. Any concern is looked into and action taken to put things right. The care home safeguards people from abuse and neglect and takes action to follow up any allegations. People’s legal rights are protected, including being able to vote in elections. This is what people staying in this care home experience: Judgement: People using this service experience good quality outcomes in this area. We have made this judgement using a range of evidence, including a visit to this service. People are confident that there concerns will be dealt with promptly, and feel safe in the home. Evidence: The home has a complaints policy that people are aware of, and is posted in the foyer of the home as well as the information given prior to admission. This results in people being confident that any concerns would be dealt with appropraitely. There have been two complaints since the last visit, both being dealt within set timescales. There have been no safeguarding issues forwarded to the CQC (Care Quality Commission formerly known as the CSCI, Commission of Social Care Inspection). Staff are aware what to do and who to report onto, issues around safety of the people in the home. The staff group were aware of what action to take in view of a complaint of safeguarding issue becoming apparent. One person commented, you can lock your door I dont feel I need to. Care Homes for Older People Page 16 of 23 Environment These are the outcomes that people staying in care homes should experience. They reflect the things that people have said are important to them: People stay in a safe and well-maintained home that is homely, clean, pleasant and hygienic. People stay in a home that has enough space and facilities for them to lead the life they choose and to meet their needs. The home makes sure they have the right specialist equipment that encourages and promotes their independence. Their room feels like their own, it is comfortable and they feel safe when they use it. This is what people staying in this care home experience: Judgement: People using this service experience excellent quality outcomes in this area. We have made this judgement using a range of evidence, including a visit to this service. People live in a clean, comfortable, homely and personalised environment. Evidence: The decor in the in the home is of a very high standard. There is a plan in place to refurbish or replace worn items of furniture, fixtures and fittings. These are automatically done when the time arises, and shows the responsible person has the needs of the people in the home at the forefront of priorities. The staff are aware of cross contamination issues, and are supplied with the appropriate protective clothing to assist in protecting residents. The laundry is well appointed with surfaces that guard against the transfer of contaminants. Care Homes for Older People Page 17 of 23 Staffing These are the outcomes that people staying in care homes should experience. They reflect the things that people have said are important to them: People have safe and appropriate support as there are enough competent staff on duty at all times. They have confidence in the staff at the home because checks have been done to make sure that they are suitable to care for them. Their needs are met and they are cared for by staff who get the relevant training and support from their managers. There are no additional outcomes. This is what people staying in this care home experience: Judgement: People using this service experience good quality outcomes in this area. We have made this judgement using a range of evidence, including a visit to this service. People are protected by the homes recruitment practices, and training programme. Evidence: There are staff employed in adequate numbers to provide care for the people in the home. Staff are provided with a programme that commences with their induction training, and offers a professional NVQ in care, as well as periodic training updates in health and safety, fire and evacuation and other statutory training required by law. The National Vocational Qualification is a nationally recognised qualification in care. The recruitment process is good with staff going through a standard process of application form and references being obtained prior to interview. Successful applicants then have a povafirst and CRB (Criminal Records Bureau) clearances prior to starting work. These are obtained to increase the security of employing staff to work with vulnerable people. Care Homes for Older People Page 18 of 23 Management and administration These are the outcomes that people staying in care homes should experience. They reflect the things that people have said are important to them: People have confidence in the care home because it is led and managed appropriately. People control their own money and choose how they spend it. If they or someone close to them cannot manage their money, it is managed by the care home in their best interests. The environment is safe for people and staff because appropriate health and safety practices are carried out. People get the right support from the care home because the manager runs it appropriately with an open approach that makes them feel valued and respected. The people staying at the home are safeguarded because it follows clear financial and accounting procedures, keeps records appropriately and ensures their staff understand the way things should be done. They get the right care because the staff are supervised and supported by their managers. This is what people staying in this care home experience: Judgement: People using this service experience excellent quality outcomes in this area. We have made this judgement using a range of evidence, including a visit to this service. The home is very well managed, and provides a safe environment for people living and working there. Evidence: The current registered manager is also the owner of the home, and has many years of experience in the care industry. There are a comprehensive staff compliment employed within the home, and these are backed up by external consultants advising on matters of health and safety and fire prevention. The external fire consultency company complete weekly fire alarm tests, as well as the monthly, six monthly and annual tests. The fire risk assessment was also noted to be in date. All of this indicates an added degree of safety built in to the monitoring process. The quality assurance for the home is ongoing with a questionnaire given to residents, their relatives and others who have an interest in the home on an annual basis. There is a suggestion box in the foyer, and placed nearby a copy of the complaints procedure. The residents and staff meetings also add to the overall quality experienced within the home. Staff supervision is regularly undertaken by the Deputy Manager. This assists in Care Homes for Older People Page 19 of 23 Evidence: the planning of staff training courses. Staffing numbers are high, enabling care staff to concentrate on caring, without having additional tasks such as laundry or bed making. Health and safety checks are periodically undertaken. Staff assist in the process by assisting with the tests and recording the outcomes. We asked to check the monies that the home held on behalf of the people, this was accurate and agreed with the paper record held. Care Homes for Older People Page 20 of 23 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, Care Homes Regulations 2001 and the National Minimum Standards. No. Standard Regulation Requirement Timescale for action Care Homes for Older People Page 21 of 23 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, Care Homes 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 1 9 13 The registered person must ensure medication is signed for appropriately. This is to protect people in the home. 19/06/2009 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 1 2 8 15 Photos of each Service User, would assist in the security of medication administration. A list of alternative meals, available for those not wishing the main meal choice would be an advantage for staff. This would ensure a consistent choice would be offered to people. Care Homes for Older People Page 22 of 23 Helpline: Telephone: 03000 616161 or Textphone: or Email: enquiries@cqc.org.uk Web: www.cqc.org.uk We want people to be able to access this information. If you would like a summary in a different format or language please contact our helpline or go to our website. Copyright © (2009) Commission for Social Care Inspection (CSCI). This publication may be reproduced in whole or in part, free of charge, in any format or medium provided that it is not used for commercial gain. This consent is subject to the material being reproduced accurately and on proviso that it is not used in a derogatory manner or misleading context. The material should be acknowledged as CSCI copyright, with the title and date of publication of the document specified. Care Homes for Older People Page 23 of 23 - Please note that this information is included on www.bestcarehome.co.uk under license from the regulator. Re-publishing this information is in breach of the terms of use of that website. Discrete codes and changes have been inserted throughout the textual data shown on the site that will provide incontrovertable proof of copying in the event this information is re-published on other websites. The policy of www.bestcarehome.co.uk is to use all legal avenues to pursue such offenders, including recovery of costs. You have been warned!