Inspection on 28/09/06 for Heads Meadow

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What the care home does well

People had lived in the home a long time and established their routines. Some staff had worked with them for several years and were familiar with their needs. People`s individual needs and abilities were recognised. This ensured that people had their needs and aspirations met by the home. Each person had a record of their individual terms and conditions of residence in the home to ensure that their interests were safeguarded. Each person had a detailed care plan. People had their abilities, needs and goals reflected in their individual plans to ensure that their needs would be met and their goals would be achieved. People were able to make choices and they made decisions about their lives with assistance as needed. Risks were assessed and action to be taken to reduce risks was recorded. People were supported to take risks and access opportunities. People received support in ways they preferred and required. They had individual routines which were recorded. Each person was registered with a GP and saw other health professionals as they required. People`s physical and emotional health needs were met. Medication was appropriately stored and mostly appropriately recorded. People were protected by the home`s policies and practices about complaints and protection. There was a complaints procedure and information about protection of vulnerable adults. Staff received training about prevention of abuse. People lived in a comfortable, clean and safe environment, suitable to their needs. The accommodation was clean, brightly decorated and well maintained. There were different sitting areas so people could choose where they spent their time. People were supported by an effective staff team, who were appropriately trained, competent and qualified to meet their needs. More than half of the staff who worked in the home had a National Vocational Qualification. They also had a range of training. Refresher training and specialist training were also planned. There were effective recruitment practices to ensure that people were protected from being cared for by unsuitable people. The manager was appropriately qualified and experienced to run the home. She was supported by other senior managers in the organisation so that people were benefiting from a well run home. A quality assurance system had been developed and views of people who used the service, their relatives and visiting professionals had been obtained. People`s views underpinned all self-monitoring, review and development by the home. There was a range of health and safety measures to ensure that the environment was safe for the people who lived there and the staff. People`s health, safety and welfare were promoted and protected.

What has improved since the last inspection?

Some work had been done to the care plans to improve the accessibility of information. There was a record in each care plan of dates of reviews and of any changes made to the care plans. This would ensure that plans were up to date and continued to meet people`s needs. Several improvements had been made to the medication practices in response to requirements at the previous unannounced inspection and the random inspection. However, further improvements need to be made. Some work had been started on producing guidelines for managing certain behaviours to ensure people`s safety. Further work was needed. Several issues were identified during the recent random inspection and these had been addressed to ensure the safety of people. More work had been done to develop the quality assurance system. The views of people who used the service, relatives and professionals had been obtained and a report of the findings had been drafted and areas for improvement had been identified for the benefit of people.

What the care home could do better:

There must be clear written guidelines agreed with a medical practitioner for all as required medication. These guidelines must clearly outline the circumstances when this medication may be administered. It would be good practice to remind all relatives about how to make a complaint. There must be clear written guidelines about the management of some behaviours. These must be agreed with relevant professionals and kept under review. The provider planned to introduce Learning Disability Award Framework training for all staff. This will help to improve further the understanding of all staff about learning disability. When new staff are recruited a reference should be obtained from the previous employer to ensure that up to date information is obtained about their ability to do the job. If they have left school or college a reference should be obtained from the school or college. Further work is needed to complete the quality assurance process. The report about the findings of the surveys needs to be published by sending a copy to the Commission and making copies available to people who use the service. The fire safety measures could be improved by reviewing the fire risk assessment so that it addresses issues for each separate area of the property.