Dolphin Manor

Updated 27 October 2018

The inspection: We carried out this inspection under Section 60 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 as part of our regulatory functions. This inspection checked 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.

Inspection team: Two inspectors visited on both days of the inspection. An expert by experience supported the inspection on day one. An expert by experience is a person who has personal experience of using or caring for someone who uses this type of care service.

Service and service type: Dolphin Manor is a care home. People in care homes receive accommodation and nursing or personal care. CQC regulates both the premises and the care provided, and both were looked at during this inspection.

The service had a manager registered with the Care Quality Commission. This means they and the provider are legally responsible for how the service is run and for the quality and safety of the care provided.

Notice of inspection: This inspection was unannounced.

What we did when preparing for and carrying out this inspection:

We reviewed information we had received about the service since the last inspection. This included details about incidents the provider must notify us about, such as abuse; and we sought feedback from the local authority and professionals who work with the service. We assessed the information we require providers to send us at least once annually to give some key information about the service, what the service does well and improvements they plan to make. We used all this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection, we spoke with 14 people who used the service and three relatives to ask about their experience of the care provided. In addition, we spoke with a visiting GP during the inspection.

We spoke with eight members of staff including the registered manager, service delivery manager, assistant managers, chef, and care workers.

We reviewed a range of records. This included six people’s care records and multiple medication records. We also looked at three staff files in relation to supervision records, records relating to the management of the home and a variety of policies and procedures developed and implemented by the provider.

Updated 27 October 2018

What life is like for people using this service:

Everyone we spoke with told us Dolphin Manor was a homely place to reside and visit, that staff were kind and caring and that people were treated with respect.

People were involved in their day to day lives through being empowered to make their own choices about where they spent their time, who with and how. Their independence was promoted and staff actively ensured people maintained links with their friends and family.

People’s health was well managed and staff had positive links with professionals which promoted wellbeing for them.

Staff showed a genuine motivation to deliver care in a person centred way based on people’s preferences and likes. People were observed to have good relationships with the staff team.

The environment was safe and people had access to appropriate equipment where needed. Staff had received appropriate training and support to enable them to carry out their role safely, including the management of medicines.

People felt the use of agency staff at times affected the experience they had of the service. The registered manager worked hard to provide consistent agency workers to overcome this. An ongoing project to recruit suitable permanent workers was in place.

Staff had a good knowledge of how to keep people safe from avoidable harm however we recommended that the provider commence using evidence based risk assessment tools to aid the knowledge staff have.

People were supported to take their medicines in a safe way, but staff did not always have robust details on when to give medicines that were prescribed ‘as and when required’.

There was enough staff on duty at the right time to enable people to receive care in a timely way. In addition, people had opportunity to access a wide range of activities including access to the local community.

Lots of checks were completed by staff, the registered manager and provider to check the quality and safety of the service. We found some areas for development which the provider had not recognised. The provider agreed to review their approach and make necessary changes.

The registered manager and senior team worked well to lead the staff team in their roles and ensure people received a good service. People, their relatives and staff told us they were approachable and that they listened to them when they had any concerns or ideas. All feedback was used to make continuous improvements to the service.

More information is in Detailed Findings below

Rating at last inspection: Good (report published 9 February 2015)

About the service: Dolphin Manor is a care home that provides personal care for up to 35 people, some of whom are living with dementia. At the time of the inspection 29 people lived in the service. Most people live in the service permanently, and some spend short periods there to provide respite to their main carers. In addition, some people move to the service from hospital whilst an assessment is carried out to see which services they require in their own home.

Why we inspected: This was a planned inspection based on the rating at the last inspection. The service remained rated Good overall.

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