Archived: Housing & Care 21 - Elkin Court

During our inspection in May we found that staff were not recording each medicine they administered to people who used the service. At this visit we found evidence that individual medicines had been recorded on the two medication administration records that we looked at. These records also listed a description of each medicine, the dosage, frequency and route of administration. This provided evidence that medicine was being recorded and administered to people in a safe way.

We found a written instruction on one of the medicine records for staff to leave the person's lunch and evening medication in an egg cup when they conducted the morning visit. No risk assessment was in place to ensure it was safe for staff to do this. However, a senior member of staff conducted the risk assessment and updated the paperwork before the end of our visit. We noted that the person had requested their medication be handled in this way.

Robust assessments of need were undertaken before people started to receive personal care and support. Risks to the safe delivery of care had also been assessed and were managed well. Care plans had been consistently updated when people's needs had changed.

People who used the service had been placed at risk by a change in the way their prescribed medicines had been recorded. Following our visit the provider gave an assurance that immediate action would be taken to ensure that people who used the service received their medicines safely. We will revisit the service to make sure that appropriate improvements have been made.

We found that staff had received training that was appropriate for them to safely meet the needs of people who used the service.

Effective systems were in place to monitor, review and improve the quality of care and support provided to people who used this service.