Archived: The Hollyhocks

The provider was also the registered manager at the time of our inspection. 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 actively involved in decisions about their care and support needs. There were formal systems in place to assess people’s capacity for decision making under the Mental Capacity Act 2005. People were safe with the staff that supported them in their own home. Staff understood the need to protect people from harm and knew what action they should take if they had any concerns.

People had support plans that were personalised to their individual needs and wishes. Records contained detailed information to assist staff to provide care and support in an individualised manner that respected people’s individuality and promoted treating people with dignity.

Staffing levels ensured that people received the support they required safely and at the times they needed. The recruitment practice protected people from being cared for by staff that were unsuitable to work in their home.

People received care and support from staff that were passionate about empowering and promoting people’s independence and were friendly and kind. Staff had the skills and knowledge to provide the care and support people needed and were supported by a provider who was receptive to ideas and committed to providing a high standard of care.

Care records contained risk assessments to protect people from identified risks and help to keep them safe. They gave information for staff on the identified risk and informed staff on the measures to take to minimise any risks.

People were supported to take their medicines as prescribed. Records showed that medicines were obtained, stored, administered and disposed of safely. People were supported to maintain good health and had access to healthcare services when needed.

Staff had good relationships with the people who they supported. The provider led a management team which was approachable and supportive. There were systems in place to monitor the quality of the service provided. Staff and people were confident that issues would be addressed and that any concerns they had would be listened to.

Quality monitoring systems were in place however actions to improve standards were not always completed in a timely manner. There was no review of outstanding actions to monitor the progress or action that had been taken to make the improvements.

People received consistent and safe care. Staff understood the need to protect people from harm and abuse and knew what action they should take if they had any concerns. Staffing levels ensured that people received the support they required at the times they needed them. There were sufficient staff to meet the needs of the people and recruitment procedures protected people from receiving unsafe care from care staff unsuited to the job.

People received care from staff that were supported to carry out their roles to meet the assessed needs of people. Staff received training in areas that enabled them to understand and meet the care needs of each person.

People were supported to take their medicines as prescribed. Records showed that medicines were obtained, stored, administered and disposed of safely. People were supported to maintain good health and had access to healthcare services when needed.

People were actively involved in decisions about their care and support needs. There were formal systems in place to assess people’s capacity for decision making under the Mental Capacity Act 2005 and Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS).

Care plans were written in a person centred manner and focussed on empowering people; personal choice, ownership for decisions and people being in control of their life. They detailed how people wished to be supported and people were fully involved in making decisions about their care. People participated in a range of activities and received the support they needed to help them do this. People were able to choose where they spent their time and what they did.

We looked at the feedback from relatives of people who use the service. One relative had stated that their relative 'had settled and was more confident since moving' to the service. Another relative said that 'they are really happy, especially with the attention he receives and the kindness of the staff'.

We found that assessments had been carried out and care was planned to meet people's needs. We found that staff were trained to carry out care for people using the service and they had undergone suitable checks before commencing employment.