Archived: Dolphin View Care Home

Updated 11 December 2018

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 19 and 28 September 2018. The first day of the inspection was unannounced. It was carried out by one adult social care inspector and an Expert by Experience. An Expert by Experience is a person who has personal experience of using or caring for someone who uses this type of care service.

We used information the provider sent us in the Provider Information Return. This is information we require providers to send us at least once annually to give some key information about the service, what the service does well and improvements they plan to make.

Prior to the inspection we reviewed the information we held about the service including statutory notifications. These are notifications of events and incidents the provider is legally obliged to inform us of. We also spoke with the local authority safeguarding and contracts teams. We used the information they provided when planning this inspection.

We spoke with seven people, four relatives, the registered manager, deputy manager, regional manager, four care staff, a cook, an activity coordinator, a GP, and a community nurse. We also received feedback via email from a care manager and a speech and language therapist (SALT). We checked three staff recruitment files, four care plans and a variety of records relating to the quality and safety of the service.

Updated 11 December 2018

This inspection took place on 19 and 28 September 2018. The first day of the inspection was unannounced. Dolphin View is a ‘care home’. People in care homes receive accommodation and nursing or personal care as single package under one contractual agreement. The Care Quality Commission (CQC) regulates both the premises and the care provided, and both were looked at during this inspection.

Dolphin View provides care for up to 35 people. There were 34 people living in the home at the time of the inspection, some of whom were living with dementia.

When we completed our previous inspection on 8 August 2017 we found concerns relating to Following the last inspection, we asked the provider to complete an action plan to show what they would do and by when to improve the key questions safe and well led to at least good. At this inspection we found appropriate action had been taken and we have rated the service as good.

A registered manager was in post. 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.

At our last inspection we found concerns with the safe management of medicines. At this inspection, we found the necessary improvements had been made.

Safeguarding policies were in place and staff were aware of the procedures to follow if they had any concerns of a safeguarding nature. Safe staff recruitment procedures were followed which helped to protect people from the risk of harm.

There were mixed views about the numbers of staff on duty. Some staff and visiting professionals felt staffing could be low at times, but no one had any concerns about the quality of care provided. We found suitable numbers of staff were deployed during our inspection, but we made a recommendation to keep this under close review in light of comments we received.

Infection control procedures were followed. There was some malodour from a faulty sluice during the inspection, we were notified this had been fixed immediately following our inspection.

Risks to people and environmental risks were assessed. A record of accidents and incidents was kept.

The premises needed redecoration and we received numerous comments about this. We were provided with dates of planned redecoration of communal areas following our inspection. We made a recommendation that attention to dementia friendly design features should be taken into account during planned refurbishment.

People’s needs and choices were assessed before they moved into the home.

Staff received regular training, supervision and appraisals. Competency assessments were carried out to ensure staff were competent to carry out specific tasks and nurses felt well supported to maintain their clinical skills.

People were well supported with eating and drinking, and prompt referrals were made where people had problems with swallowing or maintaining a healthy weight.

People were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff supported them in the least restrictive way possible; the policies and systems in the service supported this practice.

We observed numerous kind and caring interactions. Staff supported people to maintain their independence, privacy and dignity.

The needs of people were responded to and visiting professionals told us they received appropriate and timely referrals. End of life care was reported to be good and person-centred care plans were in place to ensure people were supported in the way they preferred.

A variety of activities were available including links with and involvement in community based activities.

A complaints procedure was in place and concerns raised by people or relatives were responded to promptly by the registered manager who was frequently described as approachable and helpful.

At our last inspection we found effective systems to monitor the quality and safety of the service were not in place. At this inspection we found improvements had been made.

People, staff visitors and visiting professionals were complimentary about the way the service was run and told us the registered manager was very committed to people who used the service.

Feedback mechanisms were in place to obtain the views of people and their relatives, and there were close links with the local community.