Archived: Marion House

Updated 16 August 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 was planned to check 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 28 and 30 June and 4 July 2016 and was unannounced. One inspector visited the service on all three days of the inspection.

Before the inspection the provider completed a Provider Information Return (PIR). This is a form that asks the provider to give some key information about the service, what the service does well and improvements they plan to make. We reviewed the PIR and other information we held about the service; this included incidents they had notified us about. Additionally, we contacted various health and social care professionals who had contact with the home. We also looked at information about incidents the provider had notified us of and requested information from the local authority.

We spoke with three of the five people who lived at Marion House to find out about their viewpoint of the service. We also observed staff interactions with people to assess the quality of service the people received. We spoke with three staff, in addition to the manager and an area manager of the organisation.

We sampled specific care records for all of the people who lived at the home. We also looked at records relating to the management of the service including staffing rotas, three staff recruitment, appraisal and training records, accident and incident records, premises maintenance records, staff meeting minutes and medicine administration records.

Updated 16 August 2016

This unannounced inspection took place on 28 and 30 June and 4 July 2016. Marion House is a small care home that provides accommodation and support for up to eight people with a learning disability. At the time of the inspection there were five people living at the home. The home is run by a Christian based organisation and predominantly accommodates individuals who are practising their faith.

Marion House 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.

The house had a homely and friendly feel. Staff and people looked relaxed and staff supported people in an unhurried friendly and reassuring way. A family member told us, “My brother has been a resident of Marion House since 1987 and, nearly 30 years later, my sisters and I are as impressed with the service as we have ever been."

The people living in the home were settled and had established a community amongst themselves as they had lived at Marion House for a considerable period. One person had called Marion House their home for nearly 30 years and the newest person to move into the home had been there for over five years. There was also a strong, stable staff group.

People were safeguarded because staff had been trained in the protection of adults and knew what they needed to do in the event of a safeguarding concern. Medicines were managed safely to make sure people received their medicines as prescribed.

There were sufficient staff on duty to meet people’s needs. The manager tried to ensure that staffing rotas were flexible to ensure that peoples wishes and activity preferences could be met. People confirmed that this was the case.

Staff told us they felt supported and could gain informal advice or guidance whenever they needed to. Staff were trained to make sure they were able to meet the individual needs of people living at the home.

Where people were able to make their own decisions staff sought their consent before they supported them. Where people may have lacked capacity to make a specific decision staff were acting in accordance with the Mental Capacity Act 2005.

People were treated with kindness and compassion in their day-to-day care. Staff knew the people they were caring for and supporting, including their preferences and personal histories.

People had support plans that reflected their personal history, individual preferences and interests. Staff had read people’s support plans and used the information to make sure they helped the individual in the way they wanted or needed to be supported.

People had a keyworker. A key worker is a named member of staff that was responsible for ensuring people’s care needs were met. This included supporting them with activities and spending time with them.

The service had a positive, open, person-centred culture. Staff said they felt able to raise any concerns with the registered manager and were confident that they would be addressed. They were also aware of how to raise concerns and whistleblow with external agencies such as Care Quality Commission.

The manager regularly worked alongside staff which gave them an insight into how their staff cared for and supported people. It also enabled them to share good practice and assess people's staff's abilities and the quality of care and support that was being provided.

Quality assurance systems, developed by the provider, had been implemented within the service. This meant that there were satisfactory arrangements in place to monitor the quality and safety of the service provided.