17 December 2015
During an inspection looking at part of the service
Wells Place Care Home is registered to provide accommodation and nursing care for up to 42 older people, some of whom are living with dementia. Accommodation is arranged over three floors, with access to the lower and upper floors via stairs or a passenger lift. 38 people were using the service at the time of our inspection.
At the time of this focussed inspection a registered manager was not in place. An operations support manager for the provider was temporarily fulfilling the role as manager of the home. 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 living at Wells Place Care Home had needs relating to living with dementia, mobility and general health. We were not assured that staff had the skills and knowledge to meet these needs. Staff had not received all the training they needed to deliver care safely and effectively. There were inconsistencies in staff’s experience of training, supervision and support. We found that care practices were not effectively monitored to identify shortfalls in staff performance.
People who used the service and their relatives were complimentary about the conduct of staff and improved staffing levels. However, because improvements were needed in staffing skills and knowledge in supporting people with dementia, people were not always provided with meaningful activities to meet their needs and reduce social isolation. Areas in the home were not suitably designed for people living with dementia.
The service had taken action to review records about people’s care and this was still in progress at the time of our inspection. Care plans for people reflected their identified needs and the associated risks. Further work was required to embed and sustain the practice of effective care planning.
We saw new aspects of quality assurance and there were some systems in place to look at the quality of the service. However, the service required sustained and effective leadership to maintain this and provide guidance and stability to staff.
Following our inspection the provider informed us they had placed a voluntary embargo on new admissions to the home. In addition, the local authority safeguarding team and commissioners had begun action to review people’s care.
At this inspection we found continued breaches of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) 2014. We also identified a new breach in relation to managing complaints. You can see the action we have told the provider to take at the end of the report. We will carry out another comprehensive inspection to check on all outstanding legal breaches.