This inspection was carried out on 23 July 2015 and was unannounced.
Acacia Mews is registered to provide accommodation and personal care for up to 65 older people, who are living with dementia or a physical disability. There were 60 people living at the home when we inspected.
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.
When we last inspected the service on 25 September 2014 we found them to not be meeting the required standards in relation to the administration of people’s medicines. At this inspection we found that they had met the required standards.
Care Quality Commission (CQC) is required to monitor the operation of the Mental Capacity Act (2005) (MCA) and Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS) and to report on what we find. DoLS are put in place to protect people where they do not have capacity to make decisions and where it is considered necessary to restrict their freedom in some way, usually to protect themselves or others. At the time of the inspection applications had been made to the local authority in relation to people who lived at the service and were pending an outcome. Staff were fully aware of their role in relation to MCA and DoLS and how people were at risk of being deprived of their liberty.
People received care that met their individually assessed needs and preferences.
People received their medicines safely and had regular access to health care professionals. There was a good choice of food and drink and people received support where required.
People felt safe and staff were knowledgeable about how to protect people from the risk of abuse and other areas where they may have been assessed as being at risk. Falls, accidents and incidents were monitored to ensure the appropriate action had been taken. There were regular quality assurance checks carried out to assess and improve the quality of the service.
Staff received regular training and knew how to meet people’s individual needs.
People were provided with appropriate food and drink and staff had access to accurate and up to date information to help them meet people’s needs.
Staff were kind and people appreciated the positive relationships they had with staff. This was also true for relatives. People were complimentary about the staff providing the service. Choices were given to people at all times. People’s privacy and dignity were respected and all confidential information about them was held securely.
Care plans were personalised and included information about people’s history and interests. Staff were knowledgeable about how to manage people’s individual needs and assisted people to take part in appropriate daily activities.
The service was well led by a manager who promoted a fair an open culture. They encouraged staff to take responsibility and supported their professional development. The manager also had a support structure in place from area managers. There were regular supervisions and appraisals to support staff.