Archived: Polonia

Updated 5 November 2016

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 inspection took place over two days on 26 September and 4 October 2016. Day one was unannounced and day two was announced. On day one an adult social care inspector and an expert by experience attended and on day two an adult social care inspector attended. An expert-by-experience is a person who has personal experience of using or caring for someone who uses this type of care service.

Before our inspection, we reviewed all the information we held about the home, including previous inspection reports and statutory notifications sent to us by the home. We contacted the local authority and Healthwatch. Healthwatch is an independent consumer champion that gathers and represents the views of the public about health and social care services in England.

Before the inspection, the provider completed a Provider Information Return (PIR). 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.

At the time of our inspection there were eight people living at the service. During our visit we spoke and spent time with all eight people who used the service. We also spoke with two visitors, two care staff, the deputy manager, the registered manager and the provider. We also spoke with a visiting health professional. We spent some time looking at documents and records related to people’s care and the management of the service.

Updated 5 November 2016

This inspection took place on 26 September and 4 October 2016. Day one was unannounced and day two was announced. At the last inspection in September 2014 we found the provider met the regulations we looked at.

Polonia provides residential care and mixed accommodation for older people predominantly from the Polish or other eastern European communities. The home has 9 beds and is situated across two floors.

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.

People told us they felt safe and very well looked after at the home and overall there were enough staff to meet their needs. We saw the home was clean, tidy and homely and decorated and furnished to meet the cultural needs of the people who used the service. There were systems in place to safeguard people who used the service and to ensure people were protected from abuse. Staff knew how to report any suspicions of abuse or poor practice.

We found systems in place did not fully ensure people who used the service received their medication as prescribed at all times.

Risk assessments had been completed but were not always supported by clear risk management plans to show how risks were reduced or prevented. People’s care plans were not always personalised or provided detailed information on how care needs were to be met.

People’s care records did not demonstrate people had been supported to make best interest decisions in accordance with the Mental Capacity Act 2005 and there was a risk people were deprived of their liberty without authorisation as applications for the Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards had not been considered for people whose liberty may be deprived.

People received timely access to healthcare; a range of other professionals were involved to help make sure people stayed healthy. People’s nutritonal and hydration needs were met very well.

Overall, staff were trained and supported to do their job well. However, the provider’s policy did not specify the frequency of refresher training and this could lead to staff’s practice becoming out of date.

People were supported by staff who treated them with kindness and were respectful of their privacy and dignity. There was opportunity for people to be involved in a range of activities that met their social and cultural needs. People enjoyed the activity on offer at the home and were supported to maintain contacts with friends and family.

Systems of quality assurance were in place to monitor whether the service was providing high quality care. However, these were not always formal which could lead to potential risks being overlooked.

We identified breaches of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014 during this inspection. You can see what action we told the registered provider to take at the end of this report.