Archived: Gloucestershire Old Peoples Housing Society

Updated 17 May 2018

We carried out this inspection under Section 60 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 as part of our regulatory functions. This inspection was planned to check whether the provider is meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Health and Social Care Act 2008, to look at the overall quality of the service, and to provide a rating for the service under the Care Act 2014.

The inspection was prompted in part by notification of an incident following which a person using the service was admitted to hospital. This incident is subject to an investigation and as a result this inspection did not examine the circumstances of the incident. However, the information shared with CQC indicated potential concerns about the management of people’s deteriorating health conditions and associated risks. This inspection examined those risks.

This inspection took place on 25 and 29 January 2018 and was unannounced. Inspection site visit activity started on 25 January 2018 and ended on 29 January 2018. It included looking at records, visiting people who use the service, talking with staff and phone calls and emails to relatives and health professionals. The inspection was completed by two adult social care inspectors and an Expert by Experience (ExE). An ExE is a person who has personal experience of using or caring for someone who uses this type of care service.

We looked at the records of four people using the service. We spoke with two directors of the service, the manager and five members of care staff. We spoke with eight people living at Watermoor House. We contacted five relatives who gave us feedback on the service provided at Watermoor House. We spoke to four health and social care professionals who have regular contact with the service.

Updated 17 May 2018

This inspection was completed on 25 and 29 January 2018 and was unannounced.

Gloucestershire Old Peoples Housing Society is better known as Watermoor House and will be referred to as such throughout this report.

Watermoor House is a ‘care home’. People in care homes receive accommodation and nursing or personal care as single package under one contractual agreement. CQC regulates both the premises and the care provided, and both were looked at during this inspection. Watermoor House accommodates 39 people in one adapted building. There were 31 people at Watermoor House at the time of the inspection.

There was no registered manager in post at the service as the previous registered manager had left their post two months before the inspection. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission to manage the service. Like registered providers, they are ‘registered persons’. Registered persons have legal responsibility for meeting the requirements of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 and associated Regulations about how the service is run. A new manager had started working at the service and was in the process of registering with the Care Quality Commission.

The previous inspection was completed in April 2017 and the service was rated ‘Good’ overall. At this inspection we found a number of concerns and the service was rated ‘Requires Improvement’ overall. Following the inspection, the manager informed us about some of the measures they had implemented immediately following our inspection to drive improvement. This included actions such as weekly audits of people’s care plans and liaising with the local authority for further staff training.

Risk assessments were not always updated to ensure people were supported in a safe manner and risks were minimised. Where people had suffered an accident, sufficient action had not been taken to ensure the ongoing safety of the person. The admissions process was not robust and did not ensure the staff had all relevant information related to the care of people being admitted to the service.

Staff had received training and supervision appropriate to their role however this had not always been effective in providing staff with the skills they needed to support people effectively. Although staff sought consent and gave choice to people, the service was not always adhering to the principles of the Mental Capacity Act 2005 (MCA). As a result, people were not always supported to have choice and control over their lives.

Improvements were required to ensure people’s care plans and associated documents were person centred and clearly reflected their current level of need. Where complaints had been raised, these had been managed appropriately.

Governance systems had been established in the service but these were not effective in identifying and rectifying shortfalls in the service. There were policies and procedures in place and these had all been updated and reviewed regularly however; these were not always used by the manager or staff.

Staff had received training around safeguarding and were confident to raise any concerns relating to potential abuse or neglect. The administration and management of medicines was safe. There were sufficient numbers of staff working at Watermoor House. There was a robust recruitment process to ensure suitable staff were recruited. People could choose what they liked to eat and drink and were supported on a regular basis to participate in meaningful activities. People we spoke with told us the staff were caring and kind. People were given information about the service in ways they wanted to and could understand. There were positive comments from people, relatives and staff regarding the manager.

This is the first time the service has been rated Requires Improvement.

We found four breaches of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014. Full information about CQC's regulatory response to any concerns found during inspections is added to reports after any representations have been concluded.