Care Home: Park Lane Residential Home

What the care home does well People living in the home appeared to enjoy the food provided and were given choices at each meal so they can enjoy a varied diet of food they prefer. Recruitment procedures are thorough so that people living in the home are protected from possible harm and poor practice.Staff at the home try to find out information about the life history of people before they move into the home so that they can provide better care and communicate more easily with the person. What the care home could do better: Care plans need to be more detailed so that staff are given full instructions about how to meet the needs of people living in the home. These care plans should be kept under review so that changing needs are evaluated. The home should increase the provision of activities from two days a week so that people living in the home are stimulated and do not become socially isolated. All staff should undertake training in safeguarding adults so they know how to recognise potential abuse and understand their role in relation to protecting people. Consideration should be given to the layout of the home so that people with dementia have easier access to their rooms and the gardens and are able to express choice in their daily lives. Reasons for the non administration of medication should be recorded on the medication charts to indicate why medication has not been given. Care staff who administer medication should undergo training so that they are competent in this role. Towels should be provided for people living in the home at all times so that they have the essential items for personal hygiene. The home should consider the use of liquid soap dispensers in bedrooms rather than bars of soap which are less hygienic. Inspecting for better lives Random inspection report Care homes for older people Name: Address: Park Lane Residential Home 7-9 Park Lane Congleton Cheshire CW12 3DN 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: 2 8 1 1 2 0 0 8 Information about the care home Name of care home: Address: Park Lane Residential Home 7-9 Park Lane Congleton Cheshire CW12 3DN 01260290022 F/P01260290022 wc-parklane@btconnect.com 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) : Winnie Care (Park Lane) Ltd care home 42 Number of places (if applicable): Under 65 Over 65 18 42 dementia old age, not falling within any other category Conditions of registration: 1 0 This home is registered for a maximum of 42 service users to include: Up to 42 service users in the category of OP (old age not falling within any other category Up to 18 service users in the category of DE(E) (dementia, over the age of 65 years) One named service user in the category of DE (dementia, over the age of 50 years). Date of last inspection Brief description of the care home Park Lane is a care home owned by Winnie Care [Park Lane] Ltd. It is close to Congleton town centre and is near to all community facilities and public transport. There is a small number of car parking spaces available at the home. Park Lane has been purpose built to provide care for up to 42 older people. The home is divided into five wings, one of which is designed to provide a more safe and secure area for those who have dementia. The building is three-storeys with accommodation on the lower ground, ground and first floors. Six people who are more able to care for themselves Care Homes for Older People Page 2 of 11 Brief description of the care home have rooms on the lower ground floor. Access between floors is via a passenger lift or the stairs. Accommodation consists of 38 single rooms, 36 of which have en-suite facilities and two twin bedrooms both with en-suites. There are 5 lounge/dining rooms available for people living in the home to choose between. The main entrance to the home and a number of internal doors are opened by a keypad system. There is a seating area outside the entrance and an enclosed garden at the rear of the home. The current weekly fees range from 367.54 pounds to 488.00 pounds. Further details regarding fees are available from the manager. Additional charges are made for newspapers, hairdressing, private chiropody, holidays and taxi fares. Prospective residents are able to read the latest CSCI inspection report, which is normally available in a copy of the Service User Guide in the entrance hall. Care Homes for Older People Page 3 of 11 What we found: Assessment We looked at the assessment of a person who had recently moved into Park Lane care home. The manager of the home, who is qualified and competent to do so, had carried out the assessment. It was done before the person moved in to find out what their needs were and whether they could be met at the home. The assessment included details about the persons care needs and was based on information provided by their family and the care home where they had lived previously. The information from the previous care home showed the person now needed care in a home for people with dementia. Staff at Park Lane had obtained information about the persons likes and dislikes to help them meet the persons needs. They had also asked their family for more information about the persons life history to help them understand the persons needs and staff to communicate with them as effectively as possible. The file also showed that the persons needs had been reassessed not long after moving into Park Lane and health care professionals had made an assessment that the person needed nursing care. Health and Personal Care Staff at Park Lane had drawn up a care plan for the person whose file we checked during this visit. The content of the care plan was very brief but was completed on the day that they moved into the home so care staff would know what the persons care needs were. Staff had also drawn up risk assessments on the day the person had moved into Park Lane so staff could monitor any identified risks to make sure the person was safe. The risk assessments we saw were quite detailed about what staff needed to do to reduce and monitor the identified risks. Further risk assessments had been drawn up as the staff had got to know more about the persons needs to make sure that action was being taken to safely manage all the identified risks for them. Although several of the risk assessments had been reviewed, the care plans and other risk assessments had not been reviewed during the six weeks that the person lived at Park Lane so that there was no evaluation of the care being provided. However, we found frequent references in the daily records about this person and this gave a clear picture of their day to day progress at the home. The records we looked at did not have anything to show that the person and their family had been involved in drawing up the care plan or reviewing it. It showed that the staff of the home were in touch with the persons GP and other healthcare professionals about the persons care needs and how they should be met. This means that those care needs were being closely monitored and appropriate actions taken to manage the persons care. The person had two accidents whilst living in the home; both accidents were well documented and there was a record that a message had been left on the answer phone of a relative so that the family were kept informed of events. However, we recommend that the procedures for informing relatives are reviewed to try to make sure that staff speak to them rather than just leaving a message. Medication records we saw contained several gaps so it was difficult to assess whether medication had been given on every occasion as prescribed. Care Homes for Older People Page 4 of 11 Daily life and Activities We found that the standard of the food at Park Lane is good and people who live there are offered alternatives if they do not like the meals being provided. A person is employed two days a week to provide activities for the people living at the home but there appears to be little in the way of activities organised on the other days. Although the home employs a person to provide activities two days a week there is little organised on other days. A person living in the home who we spoke with during our visit confirmed this. Entertainers visit the home monthly and religious services are held monthly at the home so those who live there can take part in them as they wish. Complaints and Protection Park Lane had not received any complaints since December 2007. The complaints procedure was displayed so people would know how make their concerns known. We have received one complaint, part of which was that the room, en-suite bathroom and clothes of a person who lived at the home were left in a dirty state. We have recommended that rooms, en-suite bathrooms and clothing are regularly checked to make sure they are clean. At our last inspection in April 2008, the manager told us that she was aware that staff had not received training about safeguarding adults and that training was to be planned for this. However no training has taken place since then so staff may not know what they must do to make sure that the people who live at Park Lane are protected from abuse. One staff member said that she had not done any training in this subject since 2006. Environment Apart from one toilet that we saw, the environment was clean, tidy and free from odours. The senior carer on duty told us that due to staff sickness there was no cleaner on duty for that day and that there would not be a cleaner until the next day. We were told that various improvements to the homes environment were planned including new carpets and bedroom furniture. A number of trees surrounding the home have been pruned back to let more light into the home. At our last inspection we noted that the design of the home does not help staff to promote best practice. For instance, a number of people with dementia are taken to another part of the building to sit in a lounge with other people with dementia and do not have access to their bedroom unless they ask. This is not satisfactory as it means that people do not have choice. Also most of the bedrooms of people with dementia are locked during the day so again they are not able to return to their room unless a staff member takes them. Although options for resolving this were discussed at the last inspection, none of these have been taken up. Another issue that has been a problem for a number of years is access to the gardens. This is via a steep flight of external concrete stairs or the lift and staff would always need to accompany the person into the garden. This means that although the gardens are enclosed and ideally suited for people with dementia to use, very little use is made of them. Care Homes for Older People Page 5 of 11 When we walked round the home we saw that although there are towels in the main bathrooms, there are no towels provided in peoples individual en suite bathrooms. A member of staff told us that towels are kept in the main bathrooms because staff take the people living in the home to the toilet. This is fine where people need this help but does not promote independence for those people who can still manage without staff help. Towels should be provided in peoples en-suite bathrooms so they can dry their hands if they choose to use their own bathrooms rather than the main bathrooms in the home. We saw a number of towels that were frayed and worn. The area manager of the organisation that runs the home told us that this was because of frequent washing. We recommend that the towels are checked regularly to make sure that they are replaced when needed. We saw that there were soap dispensers in the main bathrooms but bars of soap were provided in peoples individual en-suite bathrooms. These are less hygienic than soap dispensers and care needs to be taken that they do not become a source of infection. Staffing We looked at the staff records of a new member of staff to see how their recruitment had been managed. We found that the records were satisfactory and showed that the necessary checks had been carried out before the person started working at the home, to make sure they were suitable to work with the people who live there. The administrator confirmed that, after an initial check, the staff member had worked under supervision until a full security check had been received from the Criminal Records Bureau. There is a record kept of staff training. This showed that most of the staff have done training about caring for people with dementia. Senior staff would benefit from further training in person centred care so that they can provide care which is based on the needs of the individual. Records also indicated that five staff who have responsibility for administering medication have not received training in this area to make sure that they know how to give out medicines safely so that people living at the home receive their medicines as prescribed and accurate records are kept to show this. At our last inspection, we noted that the staff were working twelve hour shifts, which they said they preferred, but which are long shifts and could lead to staff becoming very tired. The staffing levels and shift patterns remained the same at this visit, with the night shift when staffing numbers are reduced from five to three starting at 8pm. Staff told us that they enjoyed working in the home and said that the atmosphere was friendly. A person living in the home also commented, the whole setup is pretty good. What the care home does well: People living in the home appeared to enjoy the food provided and were given choices at each meal so they can enjoy a varied diet of food they prefer. Recruitment procedures are thorough so that people living in the home are protected from possible harm and poor practice. Care Homes for Older People Page 6 of 11 Staff at the home try to find out information about the life history of people before they move into the home so that they can provide better care and communicate more easily with the person. 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 11 Are there any outstanding requirements from the last inspection? Yes £ No R 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 Care Homes for Older People Page 8 of 11 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 1 18 13 Staff must undertake training 28/02/2009 on safeguarding adults. This is so that people living in the home are protected from possible abuse. 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 7 Care plans should be kept under review so that care provided in the home is evaluated and actions taken to change care if necessary to make sure that peoples care needs are met. Care plans should be more detailed so that staff have clear guidance about how to meet the needs of people living in the home. Care plans and any reviews should be written with people who live in the home and/or their relatives so that their wishes and views regarding their care are clear. The medication administration records should be completed accurately, with all gaps explained, to show that people living in the home have received their medicines as prescribed. More activities should be provided in the home to give people the opportunity to take part in a wider range of Page 9 of 11 2 7 3 7 4 9 5 12 Care Homes for Older People activities so they can keep active and are not at risk of becoming socially isolated. 6 19 Consideration should be given to adapting the internal environment of the home so that people living in Chatsworth have easier access to their bedrooms during the day and are given choice in their daily lives. Action should be taken to make it easier for people to get to the homes gardens so they can enjoy using them in the good weather. Regular checks should be carried out to make sure towels are replaced when they become frayed and worn. Regular checks should also be done to make sure that peoples rooms, en-suite bathrooms and clothing are clean. Consideration should be given to replacing bars of soap with soap dispensers as these are more hygienic and less likely to lead to possible infection. Towels should be provided in peoples individual en-suite bathrooms so they can dry their hands when they have used these bathrooms. All care staff involved in the management of medication should undertake training on the safe management and administration of medicines to help make sure that people living in the home receive their medicines as prescribed. 7 19 8 26 9 26 10 26 11 30 Care Homes for Older People Page 10 of 11 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. 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: 0845 015 0120 or 0191 233 3323 Textphone: 0845 015 2255 or 0191 233 3588 Email: enquiries@csci.gsi.gov.uk Web: www.csci.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. Copyright © (2009) Commission for Social Care Inspection (CSCI). This publication may be reproduced in whole or in part, free of charge, in any format or medium provided that it is not used for commercial gain. This consent is subject to the material being reproduced accurately and on proviso that it is not used in a derogatory manner or misleading context. The material should be acknowledged as CSCI copyright, with the title and date of publication of the document specified. Care Homes for Older People Page 11 of 11 - 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!