10 March 2016
During a routine inspection
Bridgedale House is a care home situated in a residential area of Sheffield. It provides accommodation for up to 22 older people who require personal care. Accommodation is provided over three floors, accessed by a list and/or stairs. All bedrooms are en-suite. The home has a spacious garden which is well maintained, and a car park.
The service had a registered manager in post at the time of our inspection. 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.
We saw risk assessments in place regarding risks associated with people’s care. These explained how people’s care should be delivered in a safe way and how to reduce any risks involved.
The service had policies in place to manage medicines. We saw medicines were stored safely and temperatures were taken of the room and fridge where they were stored.
We looked at policies and procedures in place to safeguard people from abuse and found them to be informative and offer guidance to staff. Staff were knowledgeable about how to recognise and report abuse if required.
We saw the service had a staff recruitment system in place which had been followed effectively. Pre-employment checks were carried out prior to new staff commencing their role.
Staff we spoke with told us the training they received was informative and was face to face. This allowed staff to ask questions pertinent to their role. Staff told us their training covered mandatory subjects such as food hygiene, health and safety, first aid, moving and handling and safeguarding.
Through our observations and from talking with staff and the registered manager we found the service to be meeting the requirements of the DoLS.
We saw that people were offered a nutritious and balanced diet which met their needs. People had a good choice of food and were served drinks and snacks in-between meals. We observed lunch being served and some people required assistance from staff to eat their meals. This was provided in a caring and unrushed manner.
People had access to health care professionals when required. We saw care plans included professionals involved in people’s care and referrals were made to other professionals when required.
We observed staff supporting people and found they were keen to respect people and to maintain their dignity. Staff spoke to people in a lovely, calm and quietly spoken manner.
Staff took time to support people in an unrushed way. Every task was carried out at the persons pace and with their consent.
People’s needs were assessed and care and support was provided in line with their individual care plans. Staff ensured people were involved in their care and reviewed the records on a regular basis to ensure they were still current.
We saw all staff took part in activities and shared the responsibility throughout the day. Staff had the ability of involving everyone in as far as they wanted to be involved. This could be just watching, or chatting about the activity or taking an active part.
The service had a complaints procedure in place which was displayed throughout the home. The service had not received any concerns but had a log set up in preparation.
During our inspection we saw the registered manager interacting with people, relatives and staff and knew them all really well. There was an open door policy and people felt at ease just turning up to the office and chatting.
Audits took place to check the quality of the service and to ensure policies and procedures were being followed.