Archived: Camden Care Home

Updated 23 September 2017

We carried out this inspection visit 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.

Our inspection was unannounced and the team consisted of one inspector. 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 checked the information we held about the service and the provider. This included notifications that the provider had sent to us about incidents at the service and information that we had received from the public. We also spoke with the local authority who provided us with their current monitoring information. We used this information to formulate our inspection plan.

We spoke with four people who used the service and two relatives. Some people were unable to tell us their experience of their life in the home, so we observed how the staff interacted with people in communal areas. We also spoke with three members of care staff, the cook, the registered manager and the provider. We looked a range of information, which included the training records to see how staff were trained, and care records for four people who used the service. We also looked at the systems the provider had in place to ensure the quality of the service was continuously monitored and reviewed to drive improvement.

Updated 23 September 2017

This inspection was unannounced and took place on 4 September 2017. The service was registered to provide accommodation for up to 18 people. People who used the service had physical health needs and/or were living with dementia, at the time of our inspection, 18 people were using the service. Our last inspection visit took place on 6 November 2015, and the service was rated as ‘Good.’ At this inspection visit, the service remained ‘Good.’

There was a registered manager 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.

People were supported to make choices, and when required assessments and best interest decisions had been completed. There were sufficient staff to support people’s needs and staff had undergone a range of checks to ensure they were suitable to work in the home. The manager and provider completed a range of audits to support the improvements within the home. We saw feedback was sought from people and any areas raised had been considered and responded to.

People told us and we saw they had established positive relationships with people. Staff respected people’s choices and offered a range of choices the person was able to manage. Staff maintained people’s privacy and dignity at all times. There was a positive meal experience where people were able to choose the meals they wished to eat and alternatives were provided.

We saw that medicines were managed safely and administered in line with people’s prescriptions. Referrals had been made to health care professionals and people had access to a range of health care professionals to maintain their health needs.

The care plans covered all aspects of people’s care and their preferences. There was a clear process in place to cascade information about the service and the needs of people. People were able to choose how they spent their time and were encouraged to join activities. People felt able to raise any concerns if needed.

Staff felt supported by the manager and they were provided with suitable training for their role. We saw that the previous rating was conspicuously displayed in the reception of the home as required. The manager understood their responsibility of registration with us and notified us of important events that occurred at the service; this meant we could check appropriate action had been taken.