Care Home: The Gatehouse

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What the care home does well The people living in the home are listened to and the home seeks to respond to their comments and requests. People enjoy a varied activities programme. The home is clean and well maintained. The manager understands the importance of thorough staff recruitment practises. What the care home could do better: Care plans should explain in detail how people like to be supported so that staff consulting these know exactly what people need support with and how this is to be carried out. Staff must have a clear understanding of safeguarding so that they follow agreed policies and procedures should abuse occur. They must be aware of areas in which people may be vulnerable, such as financial and institutional abuse, so that their practise and the home`s procedures endeavour to keep people safe. Some people would like more activities and outings outside of the home. In addition to observing and feeding back on a member of staff`s performance, staff supervision should include more in depth discussion about their role and the needs of the people they support, identifying difficulties and celebrating successes etc. Random inspection report Care homes for older people Name: Address: The Gatehouse 64 Becton Lane Barton-on-sea New Milton Hampshire BH25 7AG 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: Wendy Thomas Date: 2 8 0 5 2 0 1 0 Information about the care home Name of care home: Address: The Gatehouse 64 Becton Lane Barton-on-sea New Milton Hampshire BH25 7AG 01425613465 Telephone number: Fax number: Email address: Provider web address: Sallyprice@thegatehouse.biz Name of registered provider(s): Name of registered manager (if applicable) Mrs Sally Price Type of registration: Number of places registered: Conditions of registration: Category(ies) : Mr E Breckon,Mrs J Breckon care home 21 Number of places (if applicable): Under 65 Over 65 0 21 dementia old age, not falling within any other category Conditions of registration: 21 0 The maximum number of service users to be accommodated is 21 The registered person may provide the following category of service only: Care home only (PC) to service users of the following gender; Either whose primary care needs on admission to the home are within the following category; Dementia (DE) Old age, not falling within any other category (OP) Date of last inspection Care Homes for Older People Page 2 of 9 Brief description of the care home The Gatehouse is set in a semi-rural location on the outskirts of the town of New Milton at Barton-on-Sea. It provides residential care for up to 21 elderly residents, some of who have dementia. The home is on ground and first floors and there is a stair lift between these. There are a variety of aids and adaptations to allow residents to move about more independently. Nineteen of the bedrooms are single, and one is a double. All of the bedrooms except one single room have an en-suite facility. There is a communal bathroom with a toilet on the ground floor, and two bathrooms with toilets on the first floor. There are large gardens around the building, and car parking space to the front. Services not covered by the fees include hairdressing, chiropody, newspapers, personal toiletries and reflexology/massage. Care Homes for Older People Page 3 of 9 What we found: The visit to The Gatehouse took place on 28 May 2010 between 13:00 and 17:00 . The Last key inspection had been on 26 September 2007. The home had been judged to be a two star service, which means it provides good outcomes for the people living there. No requirements had been made. Since then there have been two Annual Service Reviews (ASR) where we reviewed documentation we have received about the home, both from the home and from other sources. We also took into account the Annual Quality Assurance Assessment (AQAA) which is a self assessment that the home is required to complete by us. It focuses on how well outcomes are being met for people using the service. Both ASRs found that The Gatehouse was continuing to provide good outcomes for the people living there. There were no areas of concern to follow up during this visit. We toured some parts of the home, spoke with some of the people living there, staff and the manager. Documents relating to the areas being inspected were seen including a sample of care plans, staff recruitment records and other documents pertinent to the inspection. People spoken with were happy with the care that they received. A number of the people living at The Gatehouse remain quite independent with minimal need for support from the staff. Others need higher levels of support, but the home is clear that when the support someone needs can not be provided by the home, it is time to help them find alternative accommodation. Staff said that they referred to peoples care plans to know what support different people needed. Some care plans were examined with the manager. For those people with few and straightforward support needs the brief format used was appropriate. However where peoples needs were more complex the care plans need to be adapted so that they can encompass all the information needed so that staff can see in detail how to support someone. This is particularly important for those who need support around behavioural issues or who become distressed. Most of the people living at The Gatehouse can move around the home independently, so the incidence of people needing pressure care is rare. However, a member of staff asked about this said that they, Have all the time training about this and was confident they knew what to do if necessary. One person spoken with looked after and administered their own medication. Another was not aware that this was an option, assuming the home looked after everybodys medication for them. In order to promote independence the home should explain the options to everyone. The medication, including controlled drugs, was observed to be stored in line with current guidelines. The manager explained that an activities coordinator had recently been appointed and she thought this development was working out well. There was a programme of activities on display in the dining room. People spoken with enjoyed the activities on offer. There was a display of photographs showing some of the activities taken part in, including packing shoe boxes with presents for underprivileged children abroad. The people spoken with told us that bingo, quizzes, games and exercises are provided, and that entertainers Care Homes for Older People Page 4 of 9 sometimes visit, for example old time music hall. They had been on outings to a cafe on the seafront and to local garden centres. There was a desire for more outings with one person saying that their main outings were to the health centre. They would appreciate more support to go shopping. The registered person had hired a caravan by the sea in a previous year with small groups going for a day during the summer. This was being organised again at the request of the service users and was being eagerly anticipated. One person described how their previous life experiences had lead to them being consulted about preparing a particular food. They had enjoyed sharing their expertise and helping in the kitchen. However, they said they were glad that they no longer had to cook and clean for themselves citing this as one of the best things about living in the home. The home has a pleasant garden and people said they liked to sit outside when the weather was warm. Staff confirmed that people used the garden. Those people asked about the food had been used to preparing their own meals and had a little difficulty adjusting to other peoples style of cooking. But although it wasnt as they would have prepared it themselves they said that it was alright. They said that if there was something they didnt like then something else could be provided. People spoken with were confident about being able to raise concerns with the management team. One person gave the example of commenting to the registered person that they hadnt slept well because their mattress wasnt very comfortable. By the next day they had a new mattress. Both the manager and people living in the home reported that the registered person was keen to make sure that those living in the home were happy and had everything they needed. People spoken with were satisfied with the frequency of residents meetings, which they told us happened about once a year. One person did, however, comment that they thought their views should be sought more. The manager explained that there is an established annual quality assurance programme which seeks the views of people living in the home. The staffs understanding about safeguarding, keeping vulnerable people safe and protecting them from abuse was, in some cases, weak. The manager agreed that more training would be provided. The home was well maintained and kept clean with no unpleasant odours. One of the people spoken with said the, Cleanliness is excellent. All the bedrooms visited were comfortable and the people living there were happy with them. Ground floor rooms had views of the garden. Peoples own possessions were evident in their rooms, that were personalised to their taste. The people living at The Gatehouse appeared satisfied with the staff. Comments about them included, On the whole they are OK. And, Very good. Some very nice girls. Staff recruitment records were seen for the two most recently appointed members of staff. The manager explained that, in line with good practise, one would not be starting work yet as she was still waiting to receive a second reference. All other documentation Care Homes for Older People Page 5 of 9 was in place. In the AQAA the manager identified that the staff induction process for new staff could be improved. At the visit she explained that she now followed a staff induction programme developed by the local trade organisation for registered care homes, which follows the guidance promoted by Skills For Care. A member of staff confirmed that the staff team had frequent meetings at which notes were recorded. Staff also received one-to-one supervision from a member of the management team. Records were kept of these. These currently focused on the senior member of staff observing the practice of the supervisee. The need to incorporate discussion about training needs, strategies for working with particular individuals, understanding and development of the job role etc. was discussed with the manager. When asked about the home one person living there said, I dont think youll find a better one. And, I think its one of the best. A member of staff said. Were here for the people, we must understand their needs. 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 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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