Archived: Kings Bromley

The service had a registered manager. 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.

Staff had not recognised that some incidents which occurred in the home should have been reported as safeguarding concerns. People were supported by suitably recruited staff however, at times, there were insufficient staff available to meet people’s needs in a timely manner. Risks associated with people’s care, such as the safest way to support their movement, were assessed. People received their prescribed medicines to keep them well as there were processes in place to ensure medicines were administered, recorded and stored correctly.

Staff received training and support to gain the skills and knowledge to provide care for people. The provider understood the principles of the Mental Capacity Act 2005 and supported people to make decisions which were in their best interest.

People were provided with food and drinks in the most appropriate way to meet their needs. People’s health and wellbeing was monitored and the support of healthcare professionals was sought whenever specialist advice was required. Staff spoke to people politely and provided kind and compassionate care. People’s privacy and dignity was maintained. Relatives and visitors were welcomed by staff and could visit whenever they wished.

People were asked about likes, dislikes and important information about themselves so that staff could provide care in the way they preferred. People were offered opportunities to socialise and had support to take part in activities which interested them. People and their relatives felt empowered to raise any complaints or concerns directly with the registered manager.

People, their relatives and staff thought the home was well-led and the registered manager was approachable. There were opportunities for people to share their views and we saw the provider took action to make improvements when necessary. There was an audit programme in place to monitor the quality of the service.

Where people were not able to express their views we observed interaction between people and the staff. We saw staff provided sensitive support and people using the service were treated with respect. People told us they were happy with the support provided and one person told us, 'The staff make the home, and they are always kind and considerate.'

People were able to choose how to spend their time and what activities to be involved with. People could choose to socialise with other people or spend time in their bedroom or smaller lounge areas. One person told us, 'We can go where we want. I've enjoyed spending time in the garden today, it's lovely out there.'

Where people were not able to make decisions, capacity assessments were now completed. Information about why others had made decisions on their behalf had been recorded. This meant people could be confident decisions had been made in their best interest.

Medication was recorded correctly to demonstrate the quantity of medicines in the service and how these had been administered. This meant people could be confident the records matched what had been prescribed to them.

Some people we met were not able to express their views to us, though we observed interaction and saw that people were relaxed with staff. Staff had a good knowledge of people's communication style and responded appropriately. We saw staff recognised people's rights and were respectful to people using the service.

People were happy with the care and support they received. They were supported to have their health and personal care needs met. People told us they enjoyed living at the home. They said their dignity and privacy were considered and respected. They said they were offered choices in their daily living, for example when to get up and retire, a choice of food and activities.

The service no longer provided a specific dementia unit within the home; the provider had decided to open the unit and people were able to use all parts of the home. People had not been consulted about recent changes regarding how the service was provided or how this was being kept under review. This meant people using the service had not been given an opportunity to comment on changes to their home.