Archived: The Manor House Knaresborough

Updated 21 March 2017

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 registered 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 was the first inspection of the service which was registered with the CQC in December 2015. This inspection took place on 21 December 2016 and was unannounced. The inspection was carried out by two adult social care inspectors, a specialist advisor 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.

Before the inspection we reviewed the information we held about the service. This included notifications regarding safeguarding, accidents and changes which the registered provider had informed us about. A notification is information about important events which the service is required to send us by law. We reviewed the Provider Information Record (PIR). The PIR is a form that asks the registered provider to give some key information about the service, what the service does well and improvements they plan to make.

Prior to the inspection, we sought feedback from North Yorkshire County Council Quality Monitoring Team and Healthwatch.

During this inspection, we looked around the premises, spent time with people in their rooms and in communal areas. We looked at records which related to people’s individual care. We looked at ten people’s care planning documentation and other records associated with running a care service. This included six recruitment records, the staff rota, notifications and records of meetings.

We spoke with nine people who received a service and five visiting relatives. We met with the registered manager and deputy manager. We also spoke with ten care staff, the activity coordinator, head chef and a maintenance person.

We used the Short Observational Framework for Inspection (SOFI). SOFI is a way of observing care to help us understand the experience of people who could not talk with us.

Updated 21 March 2017

The Manor House Knaresborough provides residential accommodation and personal care for up to 75 older people, including people living with dementia. The service was registered in December 2015. Accommodation, care and support is provided in a modern, purpose built building, over three floors. At the time of our inspection there were 65 people at the service.

This comprehensive inspection took place on 21 December 2016 and was unannounced. This was the first inspection of the service since registration. The inspection took place over one day.

There was a registered manager in place. 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 told us they felt safe at the service. Staff were confident about how to protect people from harm and what they would do if they had any safeguarding concerns. There were good systems in place to make sure that people were supported to take medicines safely and as prescribed. Risks to people had been assessed and plans put in place to keep risks to a minimum.

There was a sufficient number of staff on duty to make sure people’s needs were met. Recruitment procedures made sure staff had the required skills and were of suitable character and background.

Staff told us they enjoyed working at the service and that there was good team work. Staff were supported through training and team meetings to help them carry out their roles effectively. Staff were led by an open and accessible management team.

The registered manager and staff were aware of the requirements of the Mental Capacity Act 2005 (MCA) and Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS). DoLS are put in place to protect people where their freedom of movement is restricted. 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.

People told us staff were caring and that their privacy and dignity were respected. Care plans were person centred and showed that individual preferences were taken into account. Care plans gave clear directions to staff about the support people required to have their needs met.

People were provided with sufficient amounts of food and drink to maintain their health and well-being. People were supported to access external services, such as a doctor, when needed.

People’s needs were regularly reviewed and appropriate changes were made to the support they received. People had opportunities to make comments about the service and how it could be improved.

The environment was clean, modern and spacious. Consideration had been given to people living with dementia in the way the furniture and fittings were organised.

The registered manager had good oversight of the service and had a clear vision for the future. The registered manager had made improvements at the service since they started in post. There were systems in place to look at the quality of the service provided and action was taken where shortfalls were identified.