Archived: OSJCT Townsend House

Updated 8 December 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 was 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 12 and 13 October 2017 and it was unannounced. The inspection team consisted of one inspector. At the time of the inspection there were 25 people living or receiving respite care at OSJCT Townsend House.

We reviewed the Provider Information Return (PIR) which had been completed by the registered manager who had recently left the service. 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. We took this into account when we inspected the service. We reviewed the information we held about the service. This included notifications about important events which the service is required to send us by law.

We spoke with eight people who were using the service and two people’s relative. We used the Short Observational Framework for Inspection (SOFI). SOFI is a specific way of observing care to help us understand the experience of people who could not talk with us. We spoke with 12 staff members; including four care staff, a kitchen assistant, the chef, the head of care, two nurses, the manager, a registered manager from another of the provider’s homes and a representative of the provider. We reviewed six people's care files. We also reviewed staff training and recruitment records and records relating to the general management of the service.

Updated 8 December 2017

We inspected OSJCT Townsend House on the 12 and 13 October 2017. OSJCT Townsend House provides accommodation, nursing and personal care to 40 older people and people living with dementia. It also provides short term respite for people, including people who require rehabilitation support. At the time of our visit 25 people were using the service. OSJCT is situated near the Centre of Mitcheldean, a town in the Forest of Dean. The home is located closely to a range of amenities. This was an unannounced inspection.

We last inspected the home on 1 and 2 September 2016. At the September 2016 inspection we rated the service as “Requires Improvement”. We found the provider was meeting all of the requirements of the regulations at that time; however we found that good practices had not always been established and maintained in relation to keeping the service clean and maintaining people’s care records. During this inspection we found the service was clean and people were protected from the risk of infection, however people’s care records were not always current or reflective of their needs.

A new manager had been in post at OSJCT Townsend House, for three weeks and they had intentions to register with the Care Quality Commission. 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.

While there was a new management team in place, there were not always effective and embedded systems in place to monitor assess and improve the quality of the service. Some quality assurances systems were not currently being used; however the manager and representative of the provider ensured us they planned to re-implement these systems.

People’s care records were not always current or reflective of their needs. Due to this people were placed at risk of receiving care which was not personalised to their needs. Additionally people’s capacity to consent to their care had not always been documented to show how people were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives.

People enjoyed living at OSJCT Townsend House and told us they had active social lives and felt safe. People had access to activities and discussions from staff which were tailored to their individual needs and preferences. People felt cared for and happy. People and their relatives spoke positively about the recent management changes and the development of the home.

People were supported with their on-going healthcare needs. Care staff supported people to access the healthcare support they required. People told us they enjoyed the food they received within the home, and had access to all the food and fluids they needed. Where people needed support to meet their nutritional needs, these needs were met.

People were supported by staff who felt trained to meet their needs. The manager and provider were assessing and refreshing the training and competencies of all staff. Staff felt they had not always felt supported or had access to professional development, however they felt confident that the new manager was implementing plans to support their personal development.

We found two breaches of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014. You can see what action we told the provider to take at the back of the full version of this report.