Random inspection report
Care homes for older people
Name: Address: Boston House Broadway Street Hathershaw Oldham OL8 1XR 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: Avril Frankl Date: 2 0 0 7 2 0 0 9 Information about the care home
Name of care home: Address: Boston House Broadway Street Hathershaw Oldham OL8 1XR 01617703769 01616651039 pat.judge@oldham.gov.uk Telephone number: Fax number: Email address: Provider web address: Name of registered provider(s): Name of registered manager (if applicable) Mrs Donna Michelle Paul Type of registration: Number of places registered: Conditions of registration: Category(ies) : Oldham M.B.C. care home 29 Number of places (if applicable): Under 65 Over 65 0 29 0 dementia old age, not falling within any other category physical disability Conditions of registration: 5 0 29 The registered person may provide the following service of category only: Care home only - 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 categlory - Code OP. Dementia - Code DE (maximum number of places: 5) Physical disability - Code PD. The maximum number of service users who can be accommodated is: 29 Date of last inspection Care Homes for Older People Page 2 of 8 Brief description of the care home Boston House is a purpose built Local Authority Home, situated three miles from Oldham town centre and close to local amenities and public transport. The service provides short stay and intermediate care to people. The home is divided into three units, each unit having a lounge, kitchen and dining area with bedrooms situated off the units. The intermediate unit has a specially adapted kitchen and equipment for rehabilitation purposes. All bedrooms are single occupancy and are larger than the minimum space requirements. There are no en-suite facilities, however there are numerous toilets and bathrooms situated close to service users bedrooms and lounges. Four rooms have doors into adjoining rooms, which can be converted into doubles for service users to share if they wish. The home provides appropriate aids and adaptations in order to maintain service users independence. Boston House has level access throughout the building onto secure garden areas.Fees charged are £370.00. Information about the service can be obtained from the service user guide, which is a booklet that provides information about what people can expect from the service. Information can also be obtained from the manager, either in person or by telephone. Care Homes for Older People Page 3 of 8 What we found:
We visited the home because we had some concerns that medicines were not being given to people properly. The visit was carried out by a pharmacist inspector. It lasted approximately three and a half hours during which time we looked at medication and records about medicines for three of the people living in the home. We talked to the assistant manager and acting deputy manager and we gave them detailed feedback throughout the inspection. We found that almost all medication was stored safely and appropriately. However some prescribed medicines including creams were kept in peoples bedrooms. Sometimes they were not kept in a safe place within the bedrooms. There were no records on peoples files to show if checks, assessments of risk, had been made to make sure it was safe for medicines to be kept in their rooms. It is important that checks are made so that peoples health is not placed at risk. The records about medicines were mainly very good. The records showed clearly that medication had been given as prescribed and that almost all medication could be accounted for. There were good records made when medication had not been given exactly as prescribed or at a different time to usual. These records gave enough information so that when staff handed over to the next shift people could be given their medicines safely. We saw that the records about the medicines people were taking when they came to stay in the home were good and there was a system to update this information when changes were made in peoples medicines. Some areas of record keeping needed to be improved. When people were prescribed creams often no information was available informing staff which part of the body to apply the cream or how often. We found that some people did not have their cream applied properly because of this lack of information. We also saw that some staff did not sign the medication administration charts properly and sometimes it was difficult to be certain that medicines had been given properly. We looked at how people were helped to look after their own medicines during their stay in the home. Assessments were made when people came into the home to check if it was safe for them to look after their own medication. Some people could not look after their own medicines when they first came into the home, for a variety of reasons, however in preparation to return to their own homes, they were helped to do so safely. The records about the checks done were good and could show clearly if people were managing their medication safely or if they needed additional support. These records were updated weekly reflecting any changes needed. We looked at records about medication together with the medication for people who were not looking after their own medicines. We found that they were usually given to people properly as prescribed. However we found that one person had been given more of one of the medication than he had been prescribed and he had been given less of another of the medication he had been prescribed. It is vital the medicines are administered carefully and according to the prescribers directions. All staff who administered medicines had been trained to do so and had been assessed as
Care Homes for Older People Page 4 of 8 competent to do so safely. The managers had recently identified that most staff needed their medication training updated and arrangements were being made to access refresher training. It was also suggested that new assessments of competency were done and formally recorded to provide evidence that all staff always handled medicines safely. The managers audit, do checks, on the medication to make sure that people are receiving their medicines properly and all aspects of medication handling is done safely. If errors in medication handling are found the managers report the errors to the Commission. They also ensure that appropriate actions are taken to prevent similar errors happening again in the future in order to protect the health of people who stay in the home. We found no serious concerns about the way medicines were handled and overall found that people were given their medicines properly and safely. What the care home does well: 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 Older People Page 5 of 8 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 Older People Page 6 of 8 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 1 9 13 All medication must be administered in exact accordance with the prescribers directions. In order to protect peoples health from harm. 22/07/2009 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 9 When medicines are stored in rooms better records of the checks made should be kept to show it is safe to stored prescription medication in bedrooms. Refresher training in medication administration should be undertaken as soon as possible, to make sure peoples health is not at risk. Record keeping about where and how often to apply creams should be improved 2 9 3 9 Care Homes for Older People Page 7 of 8 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 Older People 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. If you would like a summary in a different format or language please contact our helpline or go to our website. Copyright © (2009) Care Quality Commission (CQC). 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 CQC copyright, with the title and date of publication of the document specified. Care Homes for Older People Page 8 of 8 - 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!
