Care Home: Abigail House

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What the care home does well People living in the home have their care and personal needs well assessed. Clear, detailed care plans are then drawn up to meet those needs. Regular reviews of care take place and records are kept up to date. Medications are safely stored and administered. Health care needs are being met. There have been no complaints in the past year, but there was evidence that any complaints received are treated seriously and properly responded to. All staff have been trained in how to protect residents from abuse. The home responds appropriately when abuse is suspected. The home is well managed and has a stable, experienced and committed team of staff. The home has introduced quality assurance surveys, and feedback from residents, their families, and from visiting professionals is very good. What the care home could do better: No significant areas of concern were identified. The home continues to merit its Excellent status. Random inspection report Care homes for older people Name: Address: Abigail House 173 West Avenue Westerhope Newcastle Upon Tyne Tyne & Wear NE5 5JH 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: Alan Baxter Date: 2 0 0 4 2 0 1 0 Information about the care home Name of care home: Address: Abigail House 173 West Avenue Westerhope Newcastle Upon Tyne Tyne & Wear NE5 5JH 01912862468 01912146364 Telephone number: Fax number: Email address: Provider web address: Name of registered provider(s): Name of registered manager (if applicable) Robert Pattinson t/a Manor Care Home Group Type of registration: Number of places registered: Conditions of registration: Category(ies) : care home 29 Number of places (if applicable): Under 65 Over 65 0 29 dementia old age, not falling within any other category Conditions of registration: Age on admission 55 years and over. 29 0 The maximum number of service users who can be accommodated is: 29 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, maximum number of places: 29 Dementia - Code DE, maximum number of places: 29 Date of last inspection Care Homes for Older People Page 2 of 9 Brief description of the care home Abigail House is a care home situated in a quiet residential area of Westerhope. The home is close to the village that provides all amenities. The home is a two-storey building providing 19 places for service users with Dementia Care needs and 10 places for service users requiring 24-hour personal care. The home cannot provide nursing care. The home has bedrooms over two floors, only one is en-suite. There is ample lounge and dining room space and the home has a pleasant secure garden area. Care Homes for Older People Page 3 of 9 What we found: This was a Random, unannounced inspection of this service. The home had last been inspected on 18/06/2007, and had been rated 3 star Excellent at that inspection. Since then, we have carried out two Annual Service Reviews of the home, on 27/06/2008 and 25/05/2009. These reviews produced no evidence that the home had slipped below its Excellent rating; nor were there any areas of concern uncovered. The focus of this inspection was on those key areas felt most important to people living in the home, particularly health and personal care, complaints and protection, and the management of the home. During this inspection we spoke with the manager and staff, and with a small number of residents. We looked at care records and other essential documentation to make a judgement about the quality of the care being offered. We observed care practices. We informed the manager of what we found. Our findings were as follows: Where a person is funded by the local authority, a social worker provides an assessment of their needs. However, the home also carries out thorough assessments of the needs of any persons who wish to live in the home, before they are admitted. This to make sure that it can meet those needs. Examples seen were very detailed. Regular reviews of care take place with all interested parties on at least a six monthly basis. Care plans are drawn up on the day of admission, and accurately reflect the needs and wishes identified in the persons assessments. The care plans are holistic, covering personal care, physical and mental health needs, and social care needs. They are also very detailed and informative, giving the appropriate guidance to staff. Information from risk assessments is incorporated into the care plans. Care plans are evaluated every month, and are updated where necessary. An extra section is being added to the care plan format, to prompt the staff member drawing up the care plans to add their signature. Acute care plans are drawn up, to meet short-term health needs. The home has recently introduced a new medication system called the Bio-dose. This is a drugs tray that has the persons name and photograph printed onto the tray, along with details of what the medicine is, and the date and time it is to be given. This system includes pre-measured doses of liquid medicines. The manager said that this has improved the safety of people using the service, by making medication errors less likely. The Medication Administration Record (MAR) also contains photographs of the people receiving drugs. The MAR was well recorded, and had a list of staff names and initials for audit purposes. All medicines, including Controlled Drugs, are securely stored and recorded. Care Homes for Older People Page 4 of 9 Peoples access to health care was well documented, with evidence of input by a wide range of health professionals. Each person has an assessment of their nutritional needs, and weights are recorded monthly. No complaints have been received by the manager in the past twelve months. Previous complaints have been fully recorded in the complaints record, and entries were detailed and appropriate, with evidence of outcomes and remedial actions, where necessary. All staff have received Safeguarding of Vulnerable Adults training from the local Social Services safeguarding team, and annual refresher courses are being arranged. The manager has the four day managers course in safeguarding. She accurately described the appropriate steps to take, should an allegation or suspicion of abuse be made to the home. One safeguarding alert has been made to Social Services in the past year. This was done promptly and appropriately, and the Care Quality Commission was also immediately informed. In the event, the Safeguarding team did not think the situation called for logging as an issue of abuse. Staff have received a mixture of external and in-house training with regard to the implications of the Mental Capacity Act. Staff are required to go through a training pack, and sign that they understand their responsibilities in this area. Assessments of capacity were seen on the personal files of people living in the home. The home is well managed and has a stable, experienced and committed team of staff. Since the last inspection the manager has introduced a system of annual quality assurance surveys. Separate surveys are given to people who live in the home, their families and visiting health and social care professionals. The most recent surveys were conducted in October 2009 and the collated results reflected very well on the home. All the people living in the home said they were happy that their care needs were being met, were very satisfied with the manager and her staff, felt that any problems they raise were taken seriously and were responded to, and were happy with their bedrooms. 90 said that the quality of care was good, that the manager was approachable, and that they were treated with respect. No significant areas of concern were identified. Relatives and visiting professionals views were, if anything, even more positive, with comments including Very professional staff, and, Keep up the good work!. The manager operates an open door policy for residents and relatives, and also meets every month with relatives to talk about any issues and to organise fund raising to benefit the residents. These meetings are minuted. All staff receive personal supervision at least six times per year. These supervision sessions are minuted, and are signed by both parties. Staff also receive a twice-yearly appraisal of their work. Staff files are well-organised and up to date. Care Homes for Older People Page 5 of 9 The manager had just completed the six monthly update of the fire risk assessment for the home. In addition, there was an assessment carried by a sub-contractor. This was not completely clear, and the manager was advised to discuss this with her line manager, and also to assess whether she needed more specific training in this important area. All staff have been given fire safety training, and this is repeated annually. All the required checks and tests of fire safety systems and equipment were recorded as being carried out at the appropriate frequencies. Accident records were well completed, and the manager follows up accidents and records the outcomes. She also carries out audits of accidents, to see if there are any patterns and take any remedial actions necessary to reduce the risks of further accidents. 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 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 Older People 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 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 38 The manager should clarify the homes risk assessments with her line manager, and assess the need for further training in the area of fire risk assessment. Care Homes for Older People 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 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. © 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 Older People 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. 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