About the service: Mona Cliffe is a care home providing personal care and accommodates up to 23 people in one building. There are 15 single rooms and four double rooms. Bedrooms are situated on the ground and first floors of the home.
People’s experience of using this service:
Not all potential risks around the home had been considered and were being well managed. Risk assessments regarding fire safety and legionella had not been completed.
A range of quality assurance systems were in place: however, these were not always fully effective to ensure risks at the home were well managed.
Confidential information was not always being stored securely.
We have made three recommendations regarding moving and handling, best interest decisions and obtaining staff feedback.
People said they felt safe living at the home, with staff demonstrating a good understanding about how to protect people from the risk of harm.
Staff were recruited safely, with appropriate checks carried out to ensure there were no risks presented to people using the service.
Maintenance checks of the premises and the servicing of equipment was carried out throughout the year to ensure they were safe to use.
There were enough staff to care for people living at the home.
Accidents and incidents were monitored, and any actions taken to prevent future re-occurrence were recorded.
Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS) applications were submitted as necessary.
People told us they liked the food available and we saw staff supporting people at meal times, if they needed assistance. Where people needed modified diets due to having swallowing difficulties, these were provided.
People living at the home and visiting relatives made positive comments about the care provided at the home. The feedback we received from people we spoke with was that staff were kind and caring towards people.
People said they felt treated with dignity and respect and that staff promoted their independence as required.
Complaints were handled appropriately. Compliments were also maintained about the quality of service provided.
Activities were available for people to participate in if they wished, although if people did not want to take part then their decision was respected.
We received positive feedback from everybody we spoke with about management and leadership within the home. Staff said they could approach the home manager with any concerns they had about their work.
For more details, please see the full report which is on the CQC website at www.cqc.org.uk
Rating at last inspection:
The last rating for this service was Good (published November 2017).
Why we inspected:
The inspection was prompted in part by notification of a safeguarding incident recorded on covert video footage by a family. The concerns included safeguarding people from abuse, management and leadership, infection control, communication, nutrition/hydration, record keeping, pressure care, moving and handling and personal care. A decision was made for us to inspect and examine those risks. We are making further enquiries about this incident outside the inspection process.
We have found evidence at this inspection that the provider needs to make improvements. Please see the safe and well-led sections of the report. You can see what action we have asked the provider to take at the end of this full report.
Follow up:
We will request an action plan for the provider to understand what they will do to improve the standards of quality and safety. In addition, we will meet with the provider following this report being published to discuss how they will make changes to ensure they improve their rating to at least good. We will work with the local authority to monitor progress. We will return to visit as per our re-inspection programme. If we receive any concerning information we may inspect sooner.