Updated 23 December 2016
We carried out this inspection under Section 60 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 as part of our regulatory functions. We checked to see 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 over four days between 25 and 31 October 2016. The inspection was announced which meant the provider was given 24 hours’ notice because the location provides a domiciliary care service and we needed to be sure that someone would be available to respond to our queries.
Rowan House provides a supported living service. This service provides personal care and support to people who want to live independent lives in their own homes. Some of the people using the service had complex needs and the frequency of visits depended on people’s individual requirements. Visits ranged from shorter visits to 24 hour care. On the day of our inspection 175 people were using the service. Rowan House supports people to undertake other activities, which could be anything from helping people to budget their finances or going out for day trips or holidays. This element of the service although provided by Rowan House would not need to be registered with the Commission if this was their sole purpose. Because of this we have focussed our inspection on the people in receipt of personal care only.
The inspection team consisted of two inspectors and one expert by experience, who carried out phone calls after the visit to the service. 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 asked the provider to complete a Provider Information Return (PIR). This is a form that asks the provider to give key information about the service, what the service does well and improvements they plan to make, a PIR was returned to us. We looked at previous inspection records and intelligence we had received about the service and notifications.
We reviewed all the information we had available about the service including notifications sent to us by the manager. Notifications are information about important events, which the provider is required to send us by law. We also looked at information sent to us from others, including family members and the local authority.
Whilst some people could to talk to us, others could not. We observed how staff worked with people to help us understand the experiences of people who could not talk with us. We spent time looking at the ways support and care was provided in order to understand the experiences of people.
We looked at the care records of thirteen people and looked at information relating to how the service was managed. These included medicine records, staff training, recruitment and supervision records, accidents and incidents reports, complaints, quality audits and policies and procedures. Reviewing this information helped us understand how the provider responded and acted on issues related to the care and welfare of people, and monitored the quality of the service.
During the inspection, we visited the agency’s office and spoke with the registered manager and two members of staff. We visited 14 people at three separate locations and spoke with 12 staff supporting them on that day. We also spoke on the phone to an additional ten people and six family members.