Archived: The Albany Care Home

Updated 27 July 2015

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 27 May 2015 and was unannounced. The inspection team consisted of two inspectors, a nurse specialist advisor and an expert by experience (ExE). 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 the visit we looked at previous inspection reports and notifications we had received. Services tell us about important events relating to the care they provide using a notification. This enabled us to ensure we were addressing potential areas of concern. We spoke with local authority safeguarding and contracts teams.

We spoke with three of the 24 people who were living at The Albany Care Home. We also spoke with six people’s visitors and relatives. Not everyone we met was able to tell us their experiences, so we used the Short Observational Framework for Inspection (SOFI). SOFI is a specific way of observing care to help us understand the experience of people who could not talk with us. We spoke with the registered manager, the deputy manager, one nurse, three care workers, the chef and the activity co-ordinator.

We looked at nine people's care records, records relating to medicines and at a range of records about how the home was managed. We reviewed feedback from people who used the service and a range of audits.

Updated 27 July 2015

We inspected The Albany Care Home on 27 May 2015. The Albany Care Home provides residential and nursing care for people with a range of conditions, this incudes people living with dementia. The home offers a service for up to 48 people. At the time of our visit 25 people were using the service. This was an unannounced inspection.

At previous inspections of this service on 9 October 2014 and 7 January 2015 we found the provider did not have effective systems in place to monitor the quality of service. In addition we found medicines were not being managed safely and people were not always receiving care in line with their care plans. People did not always receive food and nutrition to meet their needs.

At this inspection, in May 2015, we found the provider had taken action to address the areas of concern and bring the service up to the required standards.

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 2008and associated Regulations about how the service is run.

People, their representatives and staff spoke positively about improvements made to the service and about the registered manager. The registered manager and deputy manager had introduced improved systems to monitor the quality of service. This included systems to monitor the management of medicines to ensure people received their medicines safely.  

People's needs had been assessed and where risks were identified risk assessments were in place. People were involved in developing their care plans. Staff were knowledgeable about people's needs and provided care in line with care plans.

The registered manager had introduced effective quality assurance systems to enable the monitoring and improvement of the service.

The Registered Manger had recruited permanent nursing staff and were no longer using agency nurses. This had improved the continuity of nursing care.

People were supported by staff who were kind and caring. The atmosphere during our inspection was cheerful and calm. People enjoyed the activities, engaging in positive interactions with each other and with staff. We saw lots of laughter and enjoyment.

Staff felt supported and were complimentary about the registered manager and deputy manager. Staff had access to development opportunities.

The registered manager was engaging with the local community. A celebration for 'care home open day' had been arranged and people from the local community invited.

The provider was adhering to the principles of the Mental Capacity Act 2005 Code of Practice. The Mental Capacity Act 2005 ensures that where people lack the capacity to make decisions, any decisions made on the person's behalf are made in their best interest.