Archived: The Old Vicarage Residential Home

Updated 11 January 2017

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.

This inspection took place on 28 November 2016 and was unannounced. Our inspection team consisted of one inspector.

We spoke with six people who used the service, two relatives and visitors, three members of care staff, the cook and the registered manager. We did this to gain views about the care and to check that the standards were being met. We observed care in the communal areas of the home so that we could understand people’s experience of living in the home.

The provider completed a Provider Information Return (PIR). This is a form that asks the provider to give some key information about the service, what the service does well and improvements they plan to make. As part of our planning we reviewed the information in the PIR. We reviewed information we held about the service. This included statutory notifications the registered manager had sent us and information received from people that used the service. A statutory notification is information about important events which the provider is required to send to us by law.

We looked at three care records to see if the records were accurate and up to date. We also looked at records relating to the management of the service including quality checks.

Updated 11 January 2017

This inspection took place on 28 November 2016 and was unannounced.

The Old Vicarage Residential Home provides residential for up to 15 older people, some of whom may be living with dementia. There were 14 people resident at the time of our inspection.

There was a registered manager in post. 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 in the Health and Social Care Act 2008 and associated Regulations about how the service is run.

The registered manager identified when people’s needs changed and may need nursing care. However, whilst waiting for this reassessment, suitable moving and handling equipment was not available to help them to move safely.

The application form completed by new staff did not enable them to share a full employment history or disclose previous convictions. This meant recruitment procedures could be improved to ensure the provider had all the necessary information to check new staff’s suitability to work with people.

People made decisions about their care and staff sought people’s consent before they provided support. Where people were not able to make decisions for themselves, capacity assessments had been completed and best interest decisions had been made. Where restrictions had been identified; applications to restrict people of their liberty had been made to ensure this was lawful.

Staff were available at the times people needed them and staff had received training so that people’s care and support needs were met. The provider had introduced the care certificate for new staff to ensure they developed and demonstrated key skills, knowledge, values and behaviours. This would enable staff to provide people with safe, effective, compassionate and high quality care.

People received support from health care professionals where they needed this to keep well. Staff supported people to attend healthcare appointments and liaised with their GP and other professionals as required to meet people’s needs. People were supported to eat and drink and there was a choice of foods available. Specialist diets were catered for and alternative meals could be provided upon request.

People were treated with kindness and compassion by staff who knew them well. We saw that their privacy and dignity was respected and people were called by their preferred name. People were confident that staff supported them in the way they wanted. Where risks associated with people’s health and wellbeing had been identified, there were plans to manage those risks. Risk assessments ensured people could continue to enjoy activities as safely as possible and maintain their independence.

People knew how to make complaints. They were confident that the staff and registered manager would respond to any concern and they could approach them at any time. Complaints were managed in line with the provider’s complaints procedure and people were informed of any investigation and actions.

Quality assurance systems were in place to assess and monitor the quality of the service and the focus was on continuous improvement. There was an open culture and which put people at the heart of the service. There was regular communication with people and staff whose views were gained on how the service was run; their views were used to make continuous improvements.