8 June 2017
During a routine inspection
Park Avenue is located in the Oakwood/Roundhay area of Leeds. It provides nursing care for up to 43 older people, some of whom are living with dementia. It is close to local amenities and is accessible by public transport.
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 and associated Regulations about how the service is run.
We saw positive interactions throughout our visit and people were happy and comfortable with the staff. People’s relatives told us they felt their family members were safe and well looked after at the home. A relative said they had confidence in the service and told us they had a sense of security and ease from this. Staff showed a good understanding of safeguarding vulnerable adults and knew what to do to keep people safe from abuse. The registered provider had a range of systems which ensured risk was well managed and included health and safety around the home, safe recruitment of workers, accident and incident management and management of medicines.
There were enough staff to meet people’s needs. Staff responded to people’s individual needs and delivered personalised care; they knew the people they were supporting well. This meant people received consistent support. We saw staff treated people with dignity and respect and supported people in a calm, compassionate and caring way. People’s needs had been assessed well and support plans contained good information which guided staff on how care should be delivered in a person centred way.
Staff were well trained, supervised and appraised which meant they were able to carry out their role effectively. Staff were cheerful and friendly and spoke highly of how much they enjoyed their job. They showed a genuine commitment to people who lived in the home. People had opportunities to take part in activities of their choice. There was a good range of well organised activity for people.
There were policies and procedures in place in relation to the Mental Capacity Act (MCA) 2005. Staff were trained in the principles of the MCA and could describe how people were supported to make decisions; and where people did not have the capacity; decisions were made in their best interests.
We saw people were provided with a choice of healthy food and drinks which helped to ensure their nutritional needs were met. People enjoyed the food and had plenty to eat and drink. People were supported to maintain good health and had access to healthcare professionals and services.
People were aware of how to complain and told us they knew who to contact if they were not satisfied. People did not raise any issues about the service and told us if they did have any concerns they would discuss these with staff or the management team. The registered manager had dealt appropriately with any complaints received.
Effective systems for monitoring the quality of the service were in place. We saw the registered manager had a visible presence in the home. Staff spoke positively about the leadership of the registered manager and we found there was a positive culture within the service. People who used the service and their relatives were involved in a meaningful way to help drive improvements in the service. They told us they attended meetings and felt confident to raise any issues or concerns they had.