The inspection took place on 17 March 2015 and was announced. The provider was given 48 hours’ notice of the inspection because both the registered manager and people who lived in the home were often out in the local community. We needed to be sure that they would be in the home at the time of the inspection.
The home was last inspected in May 2013 when we found they were meeting all the regulations we inspected.
Stonehaven provides care for up to three people who have learning disabilities. There were three people living there at the time of the inspection.
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 and associated regulations about how the service is run.
People told us they felt safe. Staff knew what action to take if abuse was suspected.
We saw that the building was well maintained and clean. Medicines were managed safely.
People, staff and relatives told us there were enough staff to meet people’s needs.
Many of the staff had worked at the service for a considerable number of years. We saw that Criminal Record Bureau checks now known as Disclosure and Barring Service checks had been carried out, although there were some issues with the service’s recording of when these checks had been obtained. The manager was in the process of renewing DBS checks for all staff.
CQC monitors the operation of the Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS). DoLS are part of the Mental Capacity Act 2005 (MCA). These safeguards aim to make sure that people are looked after in a way that does not inappropriately restrict their freedom. The manager was submitting DoLS applications to the local authority in line with legal requirements.
Staff informed us that there was plenty of training available. This was confirmed by staff training records we viewed.
People told us that they were happy with the meals provided at the home. They told us and our own observations confirmed that people were involved in the planning and preparation of meals.
People and the relatives with whom we spoke told us that staff were caring. People said that they were happy living at Stonehaven. One person told us, “It’s perfect.” Comments from relatives included, “It’s a lovely place” and “The staff are so kind.”
People were supported to maintain their hobbies and interests and housekeeping skills were encouraged to help promote people’s independence.
There was a complaints procedure in place. The manager told us that no complaints had been received. There were a number of feedback mechanisms to obtain the views from people, relatives and staff. These included meetings and surveys.
The nominated individual was not currently monitoring the service because of an ongoing investigation. A nominated individual has responsibility for supervising the way that the regulated activity is managed. We had requested that an interim nominated individual be appointed eight months ago; however, this had not yet happened.
We had no concerns about the registered manager or her leadership; we considered however, that improvements were needed with regards to the nominated individual situation to ensure that clear and transparent processes were in place for all staff to account for their decisions, actions, behaviours and performance.