Crossley House

Updated 27 June 2018

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.

This inspection took place on 4 June 2018 and was unannounced. The membership of the inspection team consisted of two adult social care inspectors and an expert-by-experience. An expert-by-experience is a person who has personal experience of using or caring for someone who uses this type of care service. The expert-by-experience used on this occasion had experience of caring for older people and people with dementia.

We used a variety of methods to gather information about people's experiences at the service. During the inspection, we spoke with 14 people and six relatives of people who used the service. We observed care and support and used the Short Observational Framework for Inspection (SOFI). SOFI is a way of observing care to help us understand the experience of people who could not talk with us.

We looked at elements of five people's care records, medication records and other records relating to the management of the service including staff recruitment and training records and policies and procedures. We looked around the home including some people's bedrooms. We also spoke with the registered manager, seven care staff, the quality manager, the chef, the activities co-ordinator, the maintenance person and three visiting health and social care professionals.

As part of our inspection planning we reviewed the information we held about the home. This included information from the provider, notifications and contacting the local authority safeguarding and contracts teams. The provider had also completed a provider information return (PIR) and returned it to us in a timely manner. 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.

Updated 27 June 2018

Our inspection of Crossley House took place on 4 June 2018 and was unannounced.

Crossley House is a 'care home'. People in care homes receive accommodation and nursing or personal care as single package under one contractual agreement. CQC regulates both the premises and the care provided, and both were looked at during this inspection. The care home accommodates up to 58 people in a two storey, purpose-built building; the top floor specialises in providing care to people living with dementia. At the time of our inspection there were 49 people living at the home.

A registered manager was in place. 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 registered manager had registered with the Commission in January 2018 and was supported by a newly appointed deputy manager. The home was also supported by the provider's quality manager on the day of our inspection.

People told us they felt safe living at Crossley House. Safeguarding policies and procedures were in place and staff understood how to keep people safe. Assessments were in place to mitigate risks to people's health and welfare. Accidents/incidents were mostly documented and investigated with actions taken as a result. However, we found some accidents had not been fully documented and the registered manager was taking steps to ensure this was rectified.

Medicines were mostly managed safely. Medicines checks were made and errors were reported, investigated and actions put in place to mitigate the risk of reoccurrence. We found this was put in place with an error we found during our inspection. Staff who administered medicines were appropriately trained and their competency was assessed.

The premises was well maintained, clean and light, with a number of communal areas in which people could spend their time. Infection control procedures were followed. People' were encouraged to personalise their bedrooms with their own items such as ornaments and pictures.

Staff were mostly recruited safely, had received appropriate training and sufficient staff were deployed to keep people safe. The service was working to ensure a system for regular staff supervision and annual appraisal was in place. People and their relatives said staff were kind and caring and we observed this during our inspection. Staff respected people's dignity and right to privacy and supported people to remain as independent as possible.

People enjoyed the food offered which was freshly prepared, with choices to suit people's tastes. Staff assisted people where required and mealtimes were relaxed and informal. Where people were at risk nutritionally, referrals were made to the GP or dietician and actions taken such as monitoring food/fluid intake and providing dietary supplements.

People's needs were assessed prior to coming to live at Crossley House to ensure these needs could be supported by the service. Plans of care were drawn up and reviewed and updated regularly to ensure these remained relevant. The service worked with a range of health and social care professionals to meet people's health care needs.

We saw staff sought people's consent when providing care and support. The service was compliant with the legal requirements of the Mental Capacity Act 2005.

A range of activities was on offer for people if they chose to take part. These were tailored to people's interests, including one to one activities where people preferred these. People and their relatives were complementary about the activities co-ordinator, who was enthusiastic and was developing ideas to include more dementia friendly activities.

Complaints were taken seriously at the service. Where a complaint was made, a full investigation took place, including ensuring the person who raised the complaint was kept informed throughout.

A range of checks were in place to ensure the quality and smooth running of the service. These included regular staff and service user meetings and annual quality surveys. Actions were taken as a result of these, showing people were involved in the service.

The management team were committed to service improvement. People, relatives and most staff were complementary about the leadership of Crossley House.