Care Home: 81 Lowther Street

Similar services:

• Sunny Bank (P.R.S.) Ltd
• Ashwood Court Unit 1
• Thornton Lodge
• Alfred House Residential Care Home
• Barkerhouse Road (123)
• Fernhaven
• Thames House
• Creative Support

What the care home does well We received surveys from past and present service users and we spoke to half of the current residents on the day. We also spoke to three relatives.There were extremely positive about the support given by the staff team. One person told us they felt that the house had given them a place of safety and had given lots of support through a mental health crisis that had challenged the person and their family. We also spoke to relatives who told us the staff gave support to people within the family as well as the individual. One person explained to us how frightening mental ill health is and said that coming to a normal domestic setting with staff who understood had taken some of the anxiety away from their situation. Here are some of the positive things said in the returned surveys:"The staff are excellent and provide a supportive atmosphere....I have always found it helpful to come to the service." "It is a lovely place, nice surroundings. Staff are very caring and understanding and are always there to help." "They do a very good job and make you well...". We also read daily notes, care plans, assessments and ongoing risk profiles. We found that these documents supported what people had told us and that good standards of care are provided. We did discuss with the manager ways to continue to develop planning for care and he informed us that all staff were receiving further training on care planning and recording. We saw in the notes and heard from people that there are regular visits from nurses and other specialists in mental health. There are regular check ups with psychiatrists for everyone who comes to the service and we could see that care planning is based on their advice and instructions. The home also has back up from other workers in the Mental Health services and there is always someone to call on if there are concerns about mental health problems. People are also supported to deal with any physical health care problems and the staff monitor physical and mental health care appropriately. They are able to help access health care staff when needed. We looked at the policies and procedures about complaints, concerns and safeguarding.In general these were of a good standard. We spoke to the manager about clarifying some points in the safeguarding procedures and accessing some further information. He agreed to look at this. There had been one formal complaint and this had been handled quickly and correctly. There was no safeguarding recorded in the service but we had evidence to show that the manager is fully aware of how to manage this. He said that he would be doing further work with staff so that they could continue to deal with any potential or actual abuse in an appropriate manner. We asked service users and visitors about concerns and complaints. They knew how they would deal with anything worrying them and trusted the team (and the company) to manage these appropriately. Staff understood what was abusive and were using workbooks to confirm and update their knowledge of safeguarding. What the care home could do better: Staff told us that no one in this service manages their own medication due to the risk factors involved with mental health crises. We saw on the day that one or two people were getting ready to leave the project and were still not managing their own medicines but would be doing so when they returned home. We judged that this area of self medication needs to be explored again. We checked the medication stored in the service and found that the systems for checking that medication was given out appropriately were not robust enough to allow for ongoingmonitoring of amounts administered. We also found that at times staff were making up dosette boxes. This practice is secondary dispensing and doesn`t meet the regulations that cover administration of medicines. We also saw some weaknesses in the systems used for disposal of medicines. There had been problems in recording of controlled drugs in the past but this has improved recently. All these things mean that we judged that the company and the registered manager need to look at the way they deal with medicines. We make a requirement that this is completed so that management of medicines meets legal guidelines and keeps service users and staff safe. Random inspection report Care homes for adults (18-65 years) Name: Address: 81 Lowther Street 81 Lowther Street Whitehaven Cumbria CA28 7RB two star good 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: Nancy Saich Date: 1 2 0 5 2 0 1 0 Information about the care home Name of care home: Address: 81 Lowther Street 81 Lowther Street Whitehaven Cumbria CA28 7RB 01946691234 Telephone number: Fax number: Email address: Provider web address: Name of registered provider(s): Name of registered manager (if applicable) The Croftlands Trust Type of registration: Number of places registered: Conditions of registration: Category(ies) : care home 6 Number of places (if applicable): Under 65 Over 65 3 mental disorder, excluding learning disability or dementia Conditions of registration: 6 The home is registered for a maximum of 6 service users to include: up to 6 service users in the category of MD (Mental disorder under 65 years of age) up to 3 service users in the category of MD(E) (Mental disorder over 65 years of age) The service must at all times employ a suitably qualified and experienced manager who is registered with the Commission for Social Care Inspection. Date of last inspection Brief description of the care home The home is operated by The Croftlands Trust; a non-profit making organisation, which runs a number of residential and community based services in the County for people with mental heath problems. Six places are available to respond to people with severe and enduring mental health illness, living in the community who are in need of shortCare Homes for Adults (18-65 years) Page 2 of 9 Brief description of the care home term crisis intervention and to reduce the need for a hospital admission. 81 Lowther Street is a large Georgian property situated in the town centre of Whitehaven. It is therefore, central for all amenities, transport links and is convenient for both service users and visitors. Each person is given a bedroom of their own and use of a communal lounge, dining room, no smoking lounge and kitchens. Service users are not charged for the service as the Health Authority fund the project. The home is managed by Mark Barrett, two staff are on duty and an aftercare 24 hours telephone support line is also available. Care Homes for Adults (18-65 years) Page 3 of 9 What we found: This was the first time we had visited this service since the last key inspection on 17/08/2007. We have received annual updates about the service and have completed Annual Service Reviews since then. Some weeks before this unannounced visit we sent the manager a form called the Annual Quality Assurance Assessment (the AQAA). It is a legal requirement that registered services complete one of these annually. It asks for detailed information and statistics about how the service is operating. This was received, with plenty of good information, within the given timescales. We also sent out ten surveys for residents and ten for staff. We had a fairly good response to these and we quote from these below. The information we received was of a good quality showing positive outcomes and we judged that we did not need to complete a full key inspection. Instead we concentrated on the core National Minimum Standards for Personal and Health care Support (NMS 18.19 and 20)and those for Concerns,Complaints and Protection (NMS 22 and 23). We made an unannounced visit on the above date. We spent time with the people who live in the home talking and observing the life of the home. We visited some, but not all areas of the building, spoke to the staff on duty. We looked at a sample of care files and other records. We checked medicines in the home. After the visit we had some issues clarified by the registered manager who was not in the home when we visited. We found that the people who come to stay in the project experienced good standards of care and support but that there was a problem with the way the systems used for medication management were operating. We also judged that good arrangements are in place to deal with complaints and concerns and that there are suitable systems to protect vulnerable adults from harm or abuse. People are listened to and protected. The service continues to provide good standards in these areas for people with mental health needs. What the care home does well: We received surveys from past and present service users and we spoke to half of the current residents on the day. We also spoke to three relatives.There were extremely positive about the support given by the staff team. One person told us they felt that the house had given them a place of safety and had given lots of support through a mental health crisis that had challenged the person and their family. We also spoke to relatives who told us the staff gave support to people within the family as well as the individual. One person explained to us how frightening mental ill health is and said that coming to a normal domestic setting with staff who understood had taken some of the anxiety away from their situation. Here are some of the positive things said in the returned surveys: Care Homes for Adults (18-65 years) Page 4 of 9 The staff are excellent and provide a supportive atmosphere....I have always found it helpful to come to the service. It is a lovely place, nice surroundings. Staff are very caring and understanding and are always there to help. They do a very good job and make you well.... We also read daily notes, care plans, assessments and ongoing risk profiles. We found that these documents supported what people had told us and that good standards of care are provided. We did discuss with the manager ways to continue to develop planning for care and he informed us that all staff were receiving further training on care planning and recording. We saw in the notes and heard from people that there are regular visits from nurses and other specialists in mental health. There are regular check ups with psychiatrists for everyone who comes to the service and we could see that care planning is based on their advice and instructions. The home also has back up from other workers in the Mental Health services and there is always someone to call on if there are concerns about mental health problems. People are also supported to deal with any physical health care problems and the staff monitor physical and mental health care appropriately. They are able to help access health care staff when needed. We looked at the policies and procedures about complaints, concerns and safeguarding.In general these were of a good standard. We spoke to the manager about clarifying some points in the safeguarding procedures and accessing some further information. He agreed to look at this. There had been one formal complaint and this had been handled quickly and correctly. There was no safeguarding recorded in the service but we had evidence to show that the manager is fully aware of how to manage this. He said that he would be doing further work with staff so that they could continue to deal with any potential or actual abuse in an appropriate manner. We asked service users and visitors about concerns and complaints. They knew how they would deal with anything worrying them and trusted the team (and the company) to manage these appropriately. Staff understood what was abusive and were using workbooks to confirm and update their knowledge of safeguarding. What they could do better: Staff told us that no one in this service manages their own medication due to the risk factors involved with mental health crises. We saw on the day that one or two people were getting ready to leave the project and were still not managing their own medicines but would be doing so when they returned home. We judged that this area of self medication needs to be explored again. We checked the medication stored in the service and found that the systems for checking that medication was given out appropriately were not robust enough to allow for ongoing Care Homes for Adults (18-65 years) Page 5 of 9 monitoring of amounts administered. We also found that at times staff were making up dosette boxes. This practice is secondary dispensing and doesnt meet the regulations that cover administration of medicines. We also saw some weaknesses in the systems used for disposal of medicines. There had been problems in recording of controlled drugs in the past but this has improved recently. All these things mean that we judged that the company and the registered manager need to look at the way they deal with medicines. We make a requirement that this is completed so that management of medicines meets legal guidelines and keeps service users and staff safe. 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 Adults (18-65 years) Page 6 of 9 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 Adults (18-65 years) Page 7 of 9 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 20 13 The registered person must ensure that suitable arrangements are in place for recording, handling, safekeeping, safe administration and disposal of medicines received into the home. This must be done to ensure that people are supported in taking medicines correctly and that staff understand the safe handling of medicines. 18/06/2010 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 Care Homes for Adults (18-65 years) Page 8 of 9 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 Adults (18-65 years) 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. © Care Quality Commission 2010 This publication may be reproduced in whole or in part in any format or medium for noncommercial purposes, provided that it is reproduced accurately and not used in a derogatory manner or in a misleading context. The source should be acknowledged, by showing the publication title and © Care Quality Commission 2010. Care Homes for Adults (18-65 years) Page 9 of 9 - 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!