Archived: Ansar 3

This was an announced inspection on the 21 September. Two days prior to the inspection, we contacted the provider and told them of our plans to carry out a comprehensive inspection of the service. This was because the location is a small care home for one younger adult who may have been out during the day; we needed to be sure that someone would be in.

The service had a registered manager in place 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. However, the registered manager was on extended leave and the service was being managed by other senior staff. For this inspection it was the team manager.

Policies and procedures were in place to safeguard people from abuse and staff had received training in safeguarding adults. Staff were able to tell us how to identify and respond to allegations of abuse. They were also aware of the responsibility to ‘whistle blow’ on colleagues who they thought might be delivering poor practice to people.

Recruitment was robust and helped protect staff from harmful workers.

People were supported by sufficient numbers of well trained staff. New staff received induction training, training was ongoing to meet people’s needs and staff were supported and supervised.

The person who used the service was involved in planning, shopping and preparing their meals. Staff encouraged people to take a healthy diet.

The provider was meeting the requirements of the Mental Capacity Act 2005 (MCA) and the Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards.

The person who used the service had personalised their rooms to suit their own tastes and also had some input into the homes decoration, which was very homely in character.

Staff were described as caring and observed to be professional and friendly to the person who used the service. Key workers regularly sat and discussed care and activities to ensure people’s views of the service were obtained.

Records were kept securely and staff were taught the principles of confidentiality to help maintain people’s privacy and dignity.

The person who used the service had a range of social activities to help them lead fulfilling lives. This could be individual or as part of a group. People also had access to the community, went on holidays and were supported to attend college or work.

The person who used the service was able to voice their concerns if they wished and had access to the complaints procedure.

Plans of care were individualised, met individual health care and social needs and were regularly reviewed and discussed with the person who used the service.

There were sufficient audits for managers to help maintain or improve standards.

Policies and procedures were available for staff to follow good practice.

The person who used the service and staff said managers were approachable and they felt supported.

The person's physical and mental health needs had been assessed and these needs were regularly reviewed by healthcare professionals. Their day to day care and support needs had also been assessed and we saw evidence that they were consulted about the care plans in place.

We saw that medication was locked in a cabinet and accurate records were kept of their administration.

The manager carried out regular assessments on all aspects of the service. Any areas where improvements could be made were considered.

A recruitment process was followed for all staff. Checks were carried out to help confirm staff members were of good character and had the required skills to perform their work.