Archived: Red House Lane

Updated 21 July 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 unannounced inspection took place on 22 June 2017 and was conducted by a single inspector. Prior to the inspection we reviewed the information we held about the service which included any statutory notifications the provider had sent the Commission. A notification is information about important events which the service is required to send us by law. We also contacted the commissioning local authority to request feedback on their views of the service.

The provider had also completed a Provider Information Return (PIR). This is a form that asks the provider to provide some key information about the service, what the service does well and any improvements they plan to make. We used this information to help inform our inspection planning.

The two people living at the home were not able to give feedback about the service they received. We spent time observing the care and support provided to help us try to understand their experience of the service. We also spoke with three staff, the registered manager and a visiting area manager. We looked at records, including both people’s support plans and other records relating to the management of the service including policies and procedures, staff training and supervision records, meeting minutes, medicine administration records (MARs) and audits.

Updated 21 July 2017

This inspection took place on 22 June 2017 and was unannounced. At our last inspection in April 2015 the service was found to be meeting regulatory requirements and was rated ‘good’. 2 Red House Lane provides accommodation and personal care for up to two adults in a domestic setting based in Bexley, Kent. At the time of our inspection two people were living at the service.

There was a registered manager in place at the time of our 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 in the Health and Social Care Act 2008 and associated Regulations about how the service is run.

At this inspection we found improvement was required because whilst steps had been taken to ensure staff were of good character during recruitment, records showed that staff had not consistently provided their full employment history prior to starting work at the service. We also found further improvement was required to ensure medicines were consistently stored within safe temperature ranges to ensure they remained effective for use, although the registered manager took steps to address this concern during our inspection.

Risks to people had been assessed and staff were aware of the action to take to manage areas of identified risk safely. There were sufficient staff deployed to meet people’s needs and people received their medicines as prescribed. People were protected from the risk of abuse because staff were aware of the types and signs of abuse, and the action to take if they suspected abuse had occurred.

Staff were supported in their roles through training, supervision and an annual appraisal of their performance. The service acted in accordance with the requirements of the Mental Capacity Act 2005 (MCA) and Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS) to ensure decisions were made in people’s best interests and their freedoms weren’t unduly restricted. People were supported to maintain a balanced diet and had access to a range of healthcare services when required.

Staff treated people with care and consideration. They involved people in decisions about their support and treated them with dignity and respect. People’s privacy was respected. The provider had a complaints policy and procedure in place which gave guidance on how to raise concerns and what people or relatives could expect in response. People had care plans in place which were person centred and gave guidance to staff on the support they required.

Staff spoke positively about the management of the service and were clear on their roles and responsibilities. The provider sought feedback from people, relatives and relevant healthcare professionals through the use of questionnaires and feedback received was positive. Senior staff undertook a range of checks and audits to identify potential issues at the service and we found action had been taken to make improvements in response to audit findings.