Care Home: Daneside Mews

What the care home does well Daneside Mews is well maintained so it provides a comfortable, pleasant and safe environment for the people who live there. Staff working at the home are highly regarded by people who live there and their relatives. One visitor commented, "very good, well looked after". There is a relaxed and friendly atmosphere in the home so that visitors are made to feel welcome. A range of social activities are provided, to people in groups and one to one, so that people can stay active and do not become socially isolated. Staff receive training to enable them to carry out their role to a good standard. Daneside Mews is well managed and maintained so that people know it is run in theirbest interests. What the care home could do better: Menus should be provided to people living in the home in a format that they can understand so that they know what food is being provided and the alternatives for each meal. Protection for clothing should be provided at mealtimes to preserve the dignity of people living in the home. Suitable provision should be made storing equipment at the home so that areas designated for other purposes are not used inappropriately. Inspecting for better lives Random inspection report Care homes for older people Name: Address: Daneside Mews Chester Way Northwich Cheshire CW9 5JA 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 assessment of the service. We call this a ‘key’ inspection. This is a report of a random inspection of this care home. A random inspection is a short, focussed inspection. 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: June Shimmin Date: 1 2 1 2 2 0 0 8 Information about the care home Name of care home: Address: Daneside Mews Chester Way Northwich Cheshire CW9 5JA 01606351935 01606331500 Telephone number: Fax number: Email address: Provider web address: Name of registered provider(s): Type of registration: Number of places registered: Conditions of registration: Category(ies) : Southern Cross Healthcare Services Ltd care home 34 Number of places (if applicable): Under 65 Over 65 32 dementia Conditions of registration: No more than 2 Service users may be DE 2 No more than 32 Service users may be DE(E) Date of last inspection Brief description of the care home Daneside Mews is a registered care home providing accommodation and personal care for up to thirty-four older people who have dementia. Two of these beds are registered for people with dementia who are under 65 years of age. The home is in the centre of Northwich, making it well placed for various community facilities, and for access for visitors who may have to rely on public transport. All the bedrooms are single rooms with en-suite facilities, and a there are a variety of communal lounges and dining areas. There are large enclosed, secure grounds with seating areas and walkways. The pleasant garden also has a summerhouse for people who live at the home to use in warmer weather. The weekly fees at the last inspection ranged from 460 to 520 Care Homes for Older People Page 2 of 10 Brief description of the care home pounds. Further details about fees are available from the manager. Additional charges are made for newspapers, hairdressing and toiletries. Prospective residents are able to read the latest CSCI inspection report, which is available in a copy of the Service User Guide in the entrance hall. Other information about the home is available in leaflets on display in the hall. Care Homes for Older People Page 3 of 10 What we found: Assessment We looked at the assessment of a person who had recently moved into Daneside Mews. The home manager and her deputy had carried out the assessment. The content of the assessment included enough information for staff at the home to draw up a basic care plan but did not include an assessment of the persons needs in relation to dementia. It is important to collect this information as it helps care home staff to know how best to meet the needs of the person in relation to communication and behaviour. The deputy manager said that the home also tries to obtain a life history either from the person or their family when communication is difficult. This is good practice as it gives staff information about about important events in the persons life and helps them to provide person centred care. In this case the family had provided an excellent life history about the persons family and working life and also about significant events, leisure interests, likes and dislikes. Health and Personal Care We looked at the care plans of two people. One person had recently been discharged from hospital and the other person was someone whose care we looked at from the original assessment they had had before they moved to Daneside Mews. The content of both care plans was good and included relevant risk assessments. The care plan of one person who had been in the home for some time had been evaluated so that their changing needs were recorded. The care plans also showed that staff from the home were in close touch with a variety of health professionals so that any further health care needs the person had were identified and met promptly. Although there was no direct reference to privacy and dignity in care plans. we saw from observation whilst we were at the home that staff make sure they respect peoples privacy and dignity. We looked at medication records kept on one floor of the home and these were found to be accurate and up to date so we could see that people receive their medication as prescribed by their doctors. Daily Life and Social Activities There is a new activity co-ordinator for Daneside Mews who had been in post for two months at the time of our visit. She works 20 hours a week spread over five mornings and also works flexibly to meet the needs of people living in the home. A varied and full activity programme was displayed on the notice board at the entrance that showed that people living in the home were able to participate in numerous seasonal activities if they wished. During our visit the activity coordinator was engaged in a small group activity, helping people to look at the newspapers. Some concerns were raised about the standard of catering at the home. Several staff told us they thought the standards were inconsistent and that they were not informed about the menus in advance. For instance, the alternative to the main meal was thought to be unsatisfactory and the staff said that the cake which was supposed to be offered during the afternoon was given to people living in the home at the late Care Homes for Older People Page 4 of 10 afternoon meal. They told us that sometimes there was no dessert offered at this meal. We also noted that people living in the home were not offered anything, such as napkins, to protect their clothes whilst they were eating. Complaints and Protection We looked at complaints received by Daneside Mews since our last visit to the home. Only one complaint had been received and we could see from the records that this had been dealt with appropriately. A relative who was visiting the home whilst we were there told us that he would speak to the deputy manager if he had any concerns but said he was happy with the care provided for his relative. The manager of Daneside Mews carries out training in safeguarding adults so that all staff know what to do if they suspect someone is being abused. Various training sessions had taken place during the previous year and the deputy manager said that all staff had done this recently. A staff member said that she had taken part in training on this subject so she knew what she needed to do to make sure that people living in the home were protected from abuse. Environment We walked around the home to see the communal spaces and some of the bedrooms. It looked very festive and was attractively decorated. We found it to be clean, tidy and free from offensive smells. A visitor told us they thought that the standard of cleanliness was good. Four problems that we found at our last visit to the home have not yet been resolved fully. Although the home has four bathrooms, only two have equipment installed to help people get in and out of the bath. As nobody living at the home at the time of our visit was able to use the bath without this help, this means that only two of the bathrooms are usable. In addition, there is very little storage space at Daneside Mews so that bathrooms are being used to store clean and dirty linen and other items such as wheelchairs. Consideration should be given to providing more storage facilities at Daneside Mews so that bathrooms do not have to be used as store rooms. The third problem we found was about smoking areas at the home. Currently nobody who lives at the home smokes but the deputy manager told us that the conservatory would be used as the smoking area if anybody who smokes moves into the home. As the conservatory is next to a dining room this is not ideal but we were told that funds were expected that would be used to install doors across the entrance of the conservatory so smoke would not drift out of this area. The fourth problem we found was that there were no waste paper bins in the toilets. We were told that bins had been used inappropriately and as domestic staff finish work at 2pm, there would be no cleaning available for the toilets after that. Consideration should be given to the alternatives that were suggested at our last visit. Doors in the home are painted different colours to help people find toilets, bathrooms and their own rooms. Photographs of people are put in frames outside their own rooms so they so they can recognise more easily where their own bedroom is. This helps to make sure they do not go into the wrong room by mistake. Staffing Care Homes for Older People Page 5 of 10 Staffing levels appear sufficient to make sure the needs of the people living at the home are met. One staff member told us it can be a struggle to get through the workload, especially in the mornings, and that higher staffing levels would be beneficial. Staff at Daneside Mews are provided with training in a wide variety of topics so they are skilled and knowledgeable in their role. We looked at the recruitment records of a new staff member. The deputy manager said that the staff member had started her induction and they were awaiting a second reference. An initial security check had been received and the staff member was doing her induction under supervision. The deputy manager said that she would remain under supervision until a full security check had been received and a second satisfactory reference. These measures are to help make sure that people who live in the home are protected from possible harm and poor practice. Management The manager was not available at the time of our visit and the home was being run by the deputy manager. Daneside Mews is a well managed home and systems are in place to monitor the quality of care at the home to make sure it is run in the best interests of people living there. A representative of Southern Cross, which owns and runs the home, visits Daneside Mews monthly to check on the care being provided and provides a report about the conduct of the home for the manager. The relatives of each person who lives at the home were sent a questionnaire in mid-November and asked to send their comments about the home to head office. The deputy manager told us they had received favourable reports so far. We looked at the service user guide, which is an information leaflet about the home. We found that comments by relatives and people living in the home that are included in the guide had not been changed in the last four years. These could be updated so people know they are an accurate reflection about how the home running. The manager makes sure that staff working at the home undertake mandatory training so they are aware of their responsibilities and can provide safe care for the people who live at the home. What the care home does well: Daneside Mews is well maintained so it provides a comfortable, pleasant and safe environment for the people who live there. Staff working at the home are highly regarded by people who live there and their relatives. One visitor commented, very good, well looked after. There is a relaxed and friendly atmosphere in the home so that visitors are made to feel welcome. A range of social activities are provided, to people in groups and one to one, so that people can stay active and do not become socially isolated. Staff receive training to enable them to carry out their role to a good standard. Daneside Mews is well managed and maintained so that people know it is run in their Care Homes for Older People Page 6 of 10 best interests. 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 7 of 10 Are there any outstanding requirements from the last inspection? Yes R No £ Outstanding statutory requirements These requirements were set at the last inspection. They may not have been looked at during this inspection, as a random inspection is short and focussed. The registered person must take the necessary action to comply with these requirements within the timescales set. No. Standard Regulation Requirement Timescale for action 1 21 23(2)(j) & (m) There must be sufficient 30/10/2007 bathrooms in working order, and not being used for storage, to meet the needs of the residents. Care Homes for Older People Page 8 of 10 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, Care Homes 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 15 Protection, such as paper or cloth napkins, should be provided for people to use to protect their clothing when they are eating. Menus showing the meals each day, together with the alternatives, should be provided in formats that are suitable for the people who live at the home to understand. This is to help make sure that staff can help them to understand what food is available and make a choice about what they would prefer to eat. The home should ensure that adequate provision is made for the storage of items such as wheelchairs so they are not stored in areas that are designated for other purposes. 2 15 3 22 Care Homes for Older People Page 9 of 10 Reader Information Document Purpose: Author: Audience: Further copies from: Inspection Report CSCI General Public 0870 240 7535 (telephone order line) Our duty to regulate social care services is set out in the Care Standards Act 2000. 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