Inspection on 29/09/06 for Milton Grange

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

Milton Grange provides a good service for older people with dementia and long term mental disorders in a well-decorated and comfortably furnished house. The home is well managed and organised by people who are experienced and committed to providing a high quality service to a very vulnerable group of people. The care and contentment of residents is clearly at the heart of the way the home is run. There are detailed care plans providing information that are used by staff so that they are aware of how people like and need to be cared for. Management and staff provide very good levels of care based on individual health needs. There are good working relationships with community health care providers There is a good system for medication administration at the home. Staff were observed throughout the inspection to be treating residents with courtesy, patience and kindness, treating them with respect at all times. There is an informal and relaxed atmosphere where friends and relatives are welcomed and where there is a range of activities to suit the needs of residents. Meals are varied and appetising. Individual preferences are taken into account and meals are planned around the likes and dislikes of service users. Imaginative plans are put in place with residents who may be reluctant to eat and time is spent encouraging them. The complaints and adult protection procedures reassure residents and their representatives that the well-being and comfort of residents is important to the home and that any concerns raised will be properly investigated and resolved. Mrs Al-Kan and her husband are committed to providing a homely environment for residents and it is apparent that they are successful in this. The home was found to be clean and comfortable with a well-kept garden. The numbers and skill mix of staff are sufficient to meet the needs of residents. Staff are appropriately qualified and well trained in care work. Proper procedures are in place to protect residents generally including safeguarding their financial interests. Systems are in place and records kept, that demonstrate the homes commitment to keeping residents safe.

What has improved since the last inspection?

Training has been given a high priority and staff have had moving and handling training essential to their work. Records are held of other training they have undergone and plans are in place for further training. Just over 50% of care staff now have an NVQ level 2 qualification in care. Recruitment procedures have improved and staff records are better maintained than at previous inspections.

What the care home could do better:

When the home carry out a pre admission assessment for a privately funded resident it would be good if they were to assess them against all the areas listed in national minimum standard 3 and for them to write this down. This helps inform the care plan. Where the home are making decisions about when to give prescribed medication to residents the circumstances when this should be done would be best documented in care plans. Care plans could also do with expansion in the area of diabetes to ensure that all aspects of care to do with this condition are covered. Where equipment is in use, such as bed rails, that physically restrains residents more information needs to be documented as to their use and the review of their use. Before allowing a new member of staff to work at the home certain pre employment checks have to be carried out and information and documents obtained to protect residents from potentially unsuitable people working at the home. Proof has to be kept that these documents have been obtained prior to the person starting work. Once employed certain other information listed in the law must be held on file and be readily available for inspection. At this inspection there were shortfalls in the records seen of new members of staff but overall an improvement in the standard of employment records was seen. The home needs to develop a quality assurance system, which gives evidence of self-auditing of the different aspects of the running of the home, including taking into account the views of residents.