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Inspection on 08/12/09 for Stobars Hall

Also see our care home review for Stobars Hall for more information

This is the latest available inspection report for this service, carried out on 8th December 2009.

it is an annual review prepared by CQC after examining previous reports and information from the provider. At the time of this report, CQC judged the service to be Good.

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.

Annual service review Name of Service: Stobars Hall The quality rating for this care home is: The rating was made on: two star good service 0 4 1 1 2 0 0 8 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 We do an annual service review when there has been no key inspection of the service in the last 12 months. It does not involve a visit to the service but is a summary of new information given to us, or collected by us, since the last key inspection or annual service review.   Has this annual service review changed our opinion of the service?   No You should read the last key inspection report for this service to get a full picture of how well outcomes for the people using the service are being met. The date by which we will do a key inspection: Name of inspector: Marian Whittam Date of this annual service review: 0 2 1 1 2 0 0 9 Annual Service Review Page 1 of 7 Information about the service Address of service: Stobars Hall Kirkby Stephen Cumbria CA17 4HD 01768371291 Telephone number: Fax number: Email address: Provider web address:   www.thefranklyngroup.com The Franklyn Group Ltd Name of registered provider(s): Conditions of registration: Category(ies) : dementia learning disability old age, not falling within any other category Conditions of registration: Number of places (if applicable): Under 65 Over 65 7 1 0 0 0 38 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: Old age, not falling within any other category - Code OP, Dementia - Code DE (maximum places 7), Learning disability - Code LD (maximum places - 1). The maximum number of service users who can be accommodated is: 38. Have there been any changes in the ownership, management or the Yes service’s registration details in the last 12 months? If yes, what have they been: Registered manager resigned November 2008. No registered manager in post. 0 4 1 1 2 0 0 8 Date of last key inspection: Date of last annual service review (if applicable): Brief description of the service Stobars Hall is a residential care home registered with the Care Quality Commission to provide accommodation for up to thirty-eight people, seven of whom may have dementia. Stobars Hall is owned and carried on by The Franklyn Group Ltd. Annual Service Review Page 2 of 7 Stobars Hall is a large period property on the outskirts of Kirkby Stephen set in large attractive and well kept grounds. The home is a detached two-storey building which has been adapted for use as a residential care home. Accommodation for residents is provided in the form of twenty-four single bedrooms and seven double rooms which two people can choose to share. All the bedrooms have a private bathroom equipped with a bath or shower, toilet and wash hand basin. There are appropriate toilets close to all areas used by residents and the home provides assisted bathing facilities. Shared space is provided in the form of two smoke free sitting rooms and a dining room. The home has passenger lifts and a stair lift to assist residents to access accommodation on the first floor of the property. There is a pleasant patio area with level access and seating for residents at the front of the property. Stobars Hall provides accommodation to residents referred by the local social services department and to individuals who purchase their care privately. The home offers respite care when accommodation is available. The service makes information available to people through its Statement of Purpose and service user guide. Copies of previous inspection reports are made available. There are additional charges for personal toiletries, hairdressing and newspapers and magazines people may want. Annual Service Review Page 3 of 7 Service update since the last key inspection or annual service review: What did we do for this annual service review? An Annual Service Review for Stobars Hall Residential Care Home included the following: 1. We sent an Annual Quality Assurance Assessment (AQAA) form to the home and this was completed by the acting manager, Mr Euan Bell and returned by the date requested. The AQAA is a self assessment and a dataset that is completed annually by all providers of registered services. It is one of the ways we gather information from the providers of services about their service and how they believe they are meeting outcomes for the people living there and using their service. The AQAA also gives us statistical information about the individual service and trends and patterns in social care. 2.We sent out surveys to people living at Stobars Hall and to the staff who work there. We also sent out surveys to health professionals who come into contact with the people living and working at Stobars Hall. 3. We looked at all the information we had about any changes that had been made in the running of the home and how any complaints or safeguarding issues had been handled. 4.We looked at what the Providers of the service have told us about things that happened in the service, these are called notifications and are a legal requirement. We also looked at how the providers kept us informed about any changes in the organisation. 5.We looked at the previous key inspection and any calls or visits we have made to the home since their last inspection. What has this told us about the service? The home does not have a registered manager in post but the acting manager Mr Euan Bell completed and sent us the Annual Quality Assurance Assessment (AQAA) when we asked for it. It contained the relevant information we asked for. The AQAA information provided examples of what the acting manager was doing to make sure that the views of people living at Stobars Hall were listened to and promoted in the way the home was run. This is by speaking with people informally on a daily basis, by using questionnaires and through holding meetings where people can raise issues and give their views. The acting manager gave examples of what they had done as a result of this consultation and getting peoples views. As a result the meal times have been adjusted to better meet peoples individual requirements and the menu content altered to give greater emphasis to personal requests. The AQAA tells us that the cook now speaks with people every day about their choice of food and that people living there may invite family to have meals with them. Annual Service Review Page 4 of 7 The providers of the service have also recently bought a vehicle so that they can provide more frequent outings, as people living there have requested this. This is also part of developing the recreational opportunities generally in line with what people have said they want. There is also a computer to allow people living there to have Internet access, and use email to keep in touch with family and friends. The acting manager gave the example of people who used it to correspond with family in Australia and Bermuda. Virtual Tours have also been used for entertainment and people living there recently had a virtual coach tour of Europe. This proved popular with people so another is planned and the next virtual tour will be a cruise of the Caribbean. Examples of changes made to improve the service for people in other important areas were given. This included changing the environment with redecoration of the sitting room and dining room and the provision of new crockery, carpets and curtains to enhance peoples enjoyment of their surroundings. There is a rolling maintenance programme and bedrooms are being redecorated along with the refurbishment of the en suite facilities with walk in showers. We received surveys back from people living in the home and their responses were positive about their experiences of living at Stobars Hall. Their replies indicated that they receive the personal and medical care and support they needed and wanted and that staff listened and acted upon what they said. Responses also indicated that people liked the meals provided for them, that the home was always fresh and clean and that there were activities arranged for them to take part in if they wanted to. Some people did not know how to make a formal complaint but all said in the surveys that they had someone they could speak to informally if they were not happy. The acting manager should look at finding out why people were unsure about how to make a formal complaint. Comments made in the surveys from people living there under what the home does well included: Everything. They are always cheerful and ready to help. They look after us really well. In what the home could do better we received no negative comments but one person did comment, I cannot think of anything. The comments and surveys we received from health and medical care professionals raised no concerns about the way peoples social and health care needs are monitored, reviewed and met by the service. Responses indicated that advice is sought and acted upon to meet peoples social and health care needs and help people make choices in these areas. No complaints have been received by CQC about this service since the last inspection and the AQAA states the service has not received any either. We looked at the information we had on changes that had been made in the management of the home since the last inspection. We found that the current acting manager had not applied for registration as manager with CQC despite being in post several months. It is required by legislation that the home should be managed by a person registered with CQC after being assessed as suitable through the registration process. We discussed with the provider of the service and the acting manager the reasons why the application for registration of the manager had not taken place promptly. As a result of our discussions the provider and acting manager have now begun the process for application for registration and we will monitor this application closely to ensure the provider and acting manager have addressed this fully. This is in order to make sure Annual Service Review Page 5 of 7 that the welfare and safety of people living there is being promoted and to ensure full compliance with the legislation. We will take action if it has not been fully addressed. We looked at all of this information that we had gathered about Stobars Hall to form a judgement. The information in the AQAA was clear and detailed and indicated how service developments and improvements in care and support were being managed. The responses from people living there and coming into contact with the service were positive and there have not been any complaints made to us. The acting manager had notified us of accidents and events in the home. On this basis the service still continues to provide good outcomes for people living at Stobars Hall. However we will be monitoring the progress and outcome of this application for the managers registration with the CQC Registration Team to ensure this has been done. What are we going to do as a result of this annual service review? The Care Quality Commission will continue to monitor information about this service and will carry out an inspection when required. Annual Service Review Page 6 of 7 Reader Information Document Purpose: Author: Audience: Further copies from: Annual service review CQC General Public 0870 240 7535 (national contact centre) Our duty to regulate social care services is set out in the Care Standards Act 2000. The content of which can be found on our website. 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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