Background to this inspection
Updated
9 June 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 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.
The inspection was carried out on 28 April 2016 and was unannounced. The inspection team consisted of two adult social care inspectors.
Greenacres has two units; a residential unit and Langtree court which is home to people living with dementia. The residential unit provides accommodation for up 28 people and has two floors which are serviced by one lift. There is a communal and quiet lounge on the ground floor and a second quiet lounge on the first floor. Bedrooms are located on both floors. Langtree is a customised bungalow. There is a dining area and lounge. The garden area is accessible from Langtree which all residents on both units are able to access. There were 29 people on the residential unit and 12 people on Langtree at the time of the inspection.
Throughout the day, we observed care and treatment being delivered in people’s rooms and communal areas which included communal lounges and dining areas. We also looked at the kitchen, bathrooms and external grounds. We asked people for their views about the services and facilities provided. During our inspection we spoke with the following people:
• Three people living on the residential unit and one person living on ‘Langtree court’.
• Five visiting relatives
• Eight members of staff, which included; the registered manager, care team leaders, senior carers and carers.
We looked at documentation including:
• Eight care files and associated documentation
• Six staff records including recruitment, training and supervision.
• Five Medication Administration Records (MAR)
• Audits and quality assurance
• Variety of polices of procedures
• Safety and maintenance certificates
Before the inspection we reviewed the information we held about the service. This included notifications regarding safeguarding and incidents, which the provider had informed us about. A notification is information about important events, which the service is required to send us
by law. We also looked at the Provider Information Return (PIR), which we had requested the registered manager complete prior to conducting the inspection. This is a form that asks the provider to give some key information about the home, what the home does well and improvements they plan to make.
We liaised with external professionals including the local authority and local commissioning teams. No issues of concern were raised by external professionals contacted. We also reviewed previous inspection reports and other information we held about the service.
Updated
9 June 2016
The inspection took place on 28 April 2016 and was unannounced.
We last inspected this location on 13 September 2013, when we found the service to be compliant with all the regulations we assessed at that time.
Greenacres is a large purpose built home situated in the village of Standish, which sits on the outskirts of Wigan town centre. It is part of Croftwood care which is owned by Minster Care Group. The home is registered to provide care and support for up to 40 older people. There is a residential unit that can house 28 people and 'Langtree Court' which can accommodate 12 people living with a diagnosis of dementia. At the time of our inspection there were 39 people living at Greenacres. There was one vacancy on the residential unit. Both units have communal lounge and dining areas. Rooms in the residential unit are located upon two floors with a passenger lift for access whilst Langtree court is a purpose built bungalow. Car parking is available at the home.
The service has a registered manager. 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.
People told us they felt safe living at the home. People had comprehensive risk assessments which were reviewed and updated in a timely way to meet people’s changing needs. People and their relatives told us they were well informed and had been involved in the assessments and planning of the care and support received.
The home had suitable safeguarding procedures in place and staff were able to demonstrate that they knew how to safeguard people and were aware of their roles, responsibilities and the alert process. Appropriate employment checks had been conducted before new staff commenced employment in the home, to make sure as far as possible that they were of suitable character to work with vulnerable people.
The home had sufficient numbers of staff deployed which was formally calculated based on people’s dependency. We found staff were able to meet people’s needs efficiently and all the people spoken with confirmed their needs were met in a timely way.
Staff felt well supported. Staff received an induction, supervision, annual appraisal and sufficient training to promote better outcomes for people.
People were supported in line with the Mental Capacity Act 2005 (MCA) and the Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS). When people could not make certain decisions for themselves, people’s rights were protected and ‘best interest’ decisions were conducted in partnership with families, professionals and advocacy services. Staff understood the Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS) and recognised that people were not to be restricted unnecessarily.
People were supported to attend health care appointments and received healthcare that supported them to maintain their wellbeing. People were offered a choice of foods and their suggestions were considered when meal planning.
Staff treated people with kindness and respect. People’s privacy and dignity was maintained and people told us that staff were respectful of their wishes. People were encouraged to maintain their relationships with friends and family and there were no prescriptive visiting times imposed by the home.
People’s independence was encouraged and staff balanced this with providing appropriate care and support. People spoke positively of the staff and valued the relationships that had formed.
People’s life plans were reflective of their preferences and needs. Staff also demonstrated a good understanding of the needs and wishes of the people they supported.
People and their relatives knew how to make a complaint. They told us they were confident in the manager and had never had any concerns or raised an issue. People were asked for their input in how the home was run through resident meetings and surveys had recently been sent to people and their relatives to illicit their feedback and drive improvements.
The manager and provider had effective procedures to measure the quality of the care received. It was evident that areas identified had been addressed and there was a clear audit trail of actions implemented.