The inspection was carried out on 13 May 2016 and was unannounced.Hartlands Residential Home is registered to provide accommodation with personal care for up to a maximum of 31 people who may be living with dementia. There were 29 people living at the home on the day of our inspection.
There was a registered manager in post who was present during the 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.
People were looked after safely. Staff were able to identify signs of abuse and knew how to reports concerns of abuse or poor practice. Staff were aware of people’s needs and took appropriate action to ensure risks to people’s health and wellbeing were minimised. Staff were aware of action they needed to take in the event of an accident or incident and there were systems in place to prevent reoccurrence.
People felt there were enough staff available to meet their needs throughout the day and night. The registered manager kept staffing levels under review and increased staffing levels in line with changes in people’s needs. The provider ensured that safe recruitment procedures were followed to ensure prospective staff were safe to work with people before they started work with them.
People were supported to take their medicine as prescribed and there were safe systems in place for the storage and disposal of medicine. People were supported to see health and social care professionals to maintain their health and wellbeing.
People and their relatives were complimentary about staff knowledge and the support they received from them. Staff received training and support that enabled them to meet the diverse needs of people who lived at the home.
People were pleased with the quality and quantity of the food provided. People’s dietary needs were assessed, monitored and reviewed on a regular basis. Where there were concerns about people’s weight or the amount they ate or drank staff sought the advice of the relevant health care professionals.
Staff always sought people’s consent before supporting them. Where staff had difficulty communicating verbally with people they explained things in a way that enabled people to be involved in decisions about their care and support. Where people were unable to make decisions for themselves staff worked with the person, their relatives and other professionals to ensure people’s right were protected.
People were supported by staff who were kind and caring. People felt staff enabled them to remain as independent as possible and treated them with dignity and respect. Staff had built good working relationships with people and their relatives. Staff helped people to keep in contact with relatives and friends who were important to them.
People were involved in decisions about their care and support. Staff knew people well and provided care tailored to their individual need. People were offered choices and staff respected their wish if they declined support.
People were supported to follow their interests and hobbies. There were a range of organised activities available as well as one to one support for people to choose what they wanted to do.
People and their relatives had not had cause to complain but were confident if they had any concerns they would be listened to and acted upon. People’s views were actively sought and suggestions made were used to develop the service.
People, their relatives and staff found the registered manager and management team easy to approach at any time. There was a positive working culture at the home where staff and management worked together to deliver good quality care. The staff felt valued and motivated to deliver the values of the service.
The registered manager had a range of systems in place to monitor the quality and safety of the service. The provider had allocated resources to make improvements to the service and this was recognised and appreciated by people, relatives and the staff.