Care Home: The Conifers

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What the care home does well People living at the home were mostly happy with the care and services provided, they said - "It`s lovely, grand, it couldn`t be better" -"Very affable, decent people, never make you feel uncomfortable"- "No grumbles whatsoever" The catering arrangements ensured individual tastes and preferences were provided for, "The food is wonderful" said one person. The home provides clean and comfortable accommodation for the residents. To help make sure the residents receive good care, staff training and development was ongoing. The owners were proactive in their approach to ensuring the home is effectively run for the benefit of people living at The Conifers. One relative described the owners as, "Supportive and always very approachable" What the care home could do better: Progress was needed with the residents care plans, to make sure staff know exactly what to do in order to provide people with individual care and attention. Risk assessments for the use of bed rails should be more formal and need to clearly show the equipment is being used in the best interest of the resident. To ensure people receive good quality care, staffing levels should be continually monitored to make sure there are enough staff on duty. To help provide a safe environment, some matters needed attention to help reduce risks to the residents and staff. To make sure the home is run in the best interests of the residents, a registered manager was needed to legal responsibility for the day to day running of the home. Random inspection report Care homes for older people Name: Address: The Conifers 66 Victoria Road East Thornton Cleveleys Lancashire FY5 5HQ two star good service 11/12/2008 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: Jeffrey Pearson Date: 2 4 0 3 2 0 1 0 Information about the care home Name of care home: Address: The Conifers 66 Victoria Road East Thornton Cleveleys Lancashire FY5 5HQ 01253860531 01253310073 coniferscare@aol.com www.theconiferscareservices 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) : Suzanne Marie Clague care home 15 Number of places (if applicable): Under 65 Over 65 15 old age, not falling within any other category Conditions of registration: 0 The registered person may provide the following category/ies 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 The maximum number of service users who can be accommodated is: 15 Date of last inspection Brief description of the care home The Conifers provides accommodation and personal care for fifteen residents over sixty-five years old. The home is situated in a residential area of Thornton near Cleveleys and is close to shops and local amenities. It is a single storey, detached property with a private front garden. A ramp is provided to provide access for wheelchair users. Accommodation is provided in eleven single rooms, one of which has en-suite facilities and two double rooms also with en-suite facilities. There is a lounge dining room and a separate sun lounge, which is a designated smoking area. In the Care Homes for Older People Page 2 of 10 1 1 1 2 2 0 0 8 Brief description of the care home entrance hallway, the home had a Statement of Purpose and Service User Guide and previous inspection reports, providing details of the services available. This information should help people make an informed choice about moving into The Conifers. Care Homes for Older People Page 3 of 10 What we found: An unannounced inspection which included a visit to the service was conducted at The Conifers on the 24 th March 2010. The purpose of the inspection was to monitor the general management arrangements and practices, as we had not had not received sufficient, appropriate information about the home when we carried out our Annual Service Review. The visit took 5 hours and was carried out by one inspector. We spoke with residents, visitors, the owners and staff. Some documents, such as care files and other records were looked at. Parts of the home were viewed. The residents spoken made mostly positive comments about life in the home and indicated they were satisfied with the services provided at the Conifers. Good up to date information about the services available at the Conifers, was readily available for prospective residents and their families. This should help them in making a decision to move into the home. People were being encouraged to visit the home before they moved in, and their individual needs an preferences were being considered and planned for. The home had recently changed their contracted pharmacist, the owner said this had improved medication practices and was considered to be a better service. Medication management training was being arranged. The owner said care plans were now more personalised and detailed. We looked at one more recently devised plan, which included some good detailed instructions for staff to follow and care reviews were being carried out. However, we found other care plans still included some more generalised instructions which were not specific to the individual person. Also, action plans did not always provide proper instructions for staff to follow in order to meet peoples needs. Risks in relation to falls were being considered and action was being taken to reduce risks. However, the risk assessments seen in relation to bed rails were not specific in identifying all the risk factors or the rationale used to determine that bed rails were the safest solution. It was not clear, that appropriate action had been taken in response to Deprivation Of Liberty Safeguards, the owner therefore agreed to pursue this matter. Residents spoken with said they liked the food provided at the Conifers, one person explained that choices were offered and there was plenty of variety. Records and discussion showed various meals were being provided and individual tastes and dietary needs were being catered for. The home did not currently have a designated cook, with care staff sharing responsibilities for food preparation and cooking. This arrangement was discussed with the owner, who provided assurances about good food hygiene practices and maintaining appropriate staffing levels. Satisfactory arrangements were in place for activities and stimulation, the notice board Care Homes for Older People Page 4 of 10 displayed the various activities available and forthcoming events, also details of local Church services. The owner had purchased a number DVDs and music CDs for the residents and was arranging a Race Night. Good links had been established with local schools and a nearby nursery. The care planning process needed ensure a more effective response to peoples individual social care needs and relationships. The home was found to be clean, warm and free from unpleasant odours. The standard of furnishings and decor was good. Arrangements were in place to support effective Fire Safety procedures. However, we noted several bedroom doors were propped open and two of the door closures were broken. Staff were observed to interact with the residents in a polite and respectful manner, those spoken with told us they had no concerns about management and staffing arrangements at the home and they had received appropriate training. Residents spoken with described the staff as good, one commented, Staff are wonderful they treat me very well. Visitors spoken with were also complementary about the staff team, one said Staff do change but they seem to recruit some good staff. At the time of the inspection there were four people on duty including the owners. The staff rota showed there were always a minimum of three people on duty during the day, with two staff in the evenings and two awake staff throughout the night. Staff spoken with considered the staffing levels were reasonable and confirmed additional staff could be brought in to provide extra support. However, we considered the staffing levels particularly at weekends, to be in need of review to ensure individual needs can be effectively and safely met. The home had been without a registered manager for twelve months, the previous nominated manager was no longer working in the home and a new manager had been appointed. The Commission had not yet received an application for the position of registered manager, the owners were taking action in response to this matter. The management arrangements were discussed with the owners, who were taking a more active role in the day to day running of the home and provided assurances of their intentions to develop the service. What the care home does well: People living at the home were mostly happy with the care and services provided, they said - Its lovely, grand, it couldnt be better -Very affable, decent people, never make you feel uncomfortable- No grumbles whatsoever The catering arrangements ensured individual tastes and preferences were provided for, The food is wonderful said one person. The home provides clean and comfortable accommodation for the residents. To help make sure the residents receive good care, staff training and development was ongoing. The owners were proactive in their approach to ensuring the home is effectively run for the benefit of people living at The Conifers. One relative described the owners as, Supportive and always very approachable Care Homes for Older People Page 5 of 10 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 10 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 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, 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 38 13 Effective arrangements must 30/04/2010 be made to identify and reduce risks and hazards in the home. This will promote the well being and safety of people using the service. 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 sufficient in detail to provide clear instructions to staff, of the actions to be taken to meet the residents, personal, health and social care needs. They should be effectively reviewed and updated, in response to changing needs. This will ensure that members of staff know what they need to do in order to meet the needs of each person. Risk assessments for the use of bed rails should clearly identify all the potential risk factors. This will determine if the use of bed rails is the safest and most appropriate way to prevent a person from falling out of bed. To make sure the home is run in the best interests of the residents, a manager needs to apply for registration with Page 8 of 10 2 8 3 31 Care Homes for Older People 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 the Commission, to take legal responsibility for the day to day running of the home. Care Homes for Older People Page 9 of 10 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 10 of 10 - 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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