Archived: Outlook Care - Cherry Tree House

Cherry Tree House is a residential care home providing personal care and accommodation to people with mental health needs. The service can support up to five people and at the time of the inspection, five people were living in the home. The service is a two-floor building. Each floor has separate adapted facilities.

People’s experience of using this service and what we found

People were safe in the home. The premises was maintained to ensure the environment was safe for people. The provider had followed up on recommendations we made at the last inspection to improve the safety of the home. Risks associated with people's needs were assessed. There were procedures to protect people from abuse and staff understood how to report abuse. People's medicines were managed safely. Staff followed infection control procedures. Accidents and incidents were reviewed to learn lessons to help prevent them from re-occurring. The home had enough staff at all times to provide support to people. Staff were recruited appropriately to ensure they were suitable.

Staff were kind and caring towards people. Staff understood the importance of promoting equality and diversity. However, we have made a recommendation about ensuring people's privacy and confidential information is respected at all times because we found staff did not always follow procedures in this area.

Staff were provided with training to ensure their skills and knowledge were up to date. Staff felt supported by the management team. They received regular supervision to monitor their performance.

People were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff supported them in the least restrictive way possible; the policies and systems in the service supported this practice.

People maintained their health and nutrition with balanced meals. The service worked in collaboration with health care professionals, such as GPs and physiotherapists to ensure their health needs were met.

People were supported to remain independent and lead a private life. They were involved in decisions made about their care.

People’s communication needs were assessed. People were supported to avoid social isolation and pursue their interests and take part in activities both inside and outside the home.

There was a procedure for people to make complaints about the home. There were quality assurance systems to monitor the safety of the home through audits, checks and obtaining feedback from people and relatives.

For more details, please see the full report which is on the CQC website at www.cqc.org.uk

Rating at last inspection

The last rating for this service was good (published 11 July 2017).

Why we inspected

This was a planned inspection based on the previous rating.

Follow up

We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service until we return to visit as per our re-inspection programme. If we receive any concerning information we may inspect sooner.

Cherry Tree House provides residential care and accommodation for five adults with learning disabilities and mental health support needs. At the time of the inspection, there were five people living at the service.

The service had 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 provider had measures in place to ensure the environment was suitable and safe for people using the service. We have made recommendations about having more suitable and safe window restrictors in place and that full repairs are carried out, where necessary, on facilities that are regularly used by people.

Medicines were managed safely by staff who were trained and assessed as competent. People received their medicines at the required times and in the way they had been prescribed.

People were safe at the service and were cared for by staff who were knowledgeable about safeguarding people. Staff knew how to report any concerns of abuse.

Risks to people had been assessed and there was guidance in place on how to manage them safely. There were sufficient staff available to meet people's needs. Staff received training in relevant areas to ensure they had the skills to provide safe care.

There was a safe recruitment process and suitable staff were recruited to keep people safe. People were supported with their finances.

People's consent was sought where appropriate The provider followed the legal requirements outlined in Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS) and was complaint with the Mental Capacity Act 2005 (MCA).

Staff were caring, interacted well with people and respected their privacy. They promoted people’s independence.

People were supported by staff with appointments to meet with healthcare professionals. They were able to express their views and to make decisions about their care.

People were supported to have a nutritious and balanced diet. Their health and wellbeing was promoted and they were able to choose their meals.

People’s care plans were personalised and contained information about aspects of their life. People were encouraged to take part in household chores and leisure activities.

There was a complaints procedure in place. Staff were able to support people if they wished to complain. Relatives knew how to make a complaint and all complaints were investigated.

Staff, people and relatives told us the registered manager was supportive and approachable.

The provider had systems in place to evaluate and monitor the quality of the service. Annual reviews were conducted by senior managers. The management team demonstrated an understanding of their role and responsibilities.

We found that people's individual needs were being met. The service was suitably laid out and adequately maintained. Staff were adequately supported by the service to meet people's needs and records were up to date and stored securely.

We also found that people's needs were being met according to assessed need and medications were being managed safely and appropriately. Checks were carried out on staff before they started work at the service. Records kept by the service were accurate and stored securely. Quality checks where being carried out by the service and where they identified that changes needed to be made, they had been addressed.