Valentine House

Updated 23 May 2019

The inspection:

We carried out this inspection under Section 60 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (the Act) as part of our regulatory functions. This inspection was planned to check whether the provider was meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Act, to look at the overall quality of the service, and to provide a rating for the service under the Care Act 2014.

Inspection team:

The inspection team consisted of one inspector and an expert by experience. An expert by experience is a person who has personal experience of using or caring for someone who uses this type of care service. In this incidence they had experience of caring for an older person and dementia care.

Service and service type:

Valentine House is a care home. People in care homes receive accommodation and nursing or personal care. The CQC regulates both the premises and the care provided, and both were looked at during this inspection.

The service had a manager registered with the Care Quality Commission. This means that they and the provider are legally responsible for how the service is run and for the quality and safety of the care provided.

Notice of inspection:

This was an unannounced inspection.

What we did:

Before the inspection we looked at information, we held about the service. Including; previous inspection reports, details about incidents the provider must notify us about, such as serious injury, events that stop the service running and safeguarding alerts. We reviewed the information in the provider information return. This is key information providers are required to send us about their service, what they do well, and improvements they plan to make. This information helps support our inspections.

During the inspection, we spoke with eight people living at the service, six relatives and two visiting healthcare professionals to ask about their experience of the care provided. Some people living in the service could not easily give their views and opinions about care. To help us gain a better understanding of people's experiences we observed interactions between people and staff in communal areas. We also spoke with seven members of staff including the registered manager, regional manager, care workers and kitchen and domestic staff. We reviewed a range of records including, three people's care and medication records, staff files, complaints and compliments, documents relating to the management of the service and a variety of policies and procedures developed and implemented by the provider.

Updated 23 May 2019

About the service:

Valentine House provides accommodation and personal care. At the time of the inspection, 46 people were living at the service.

People’s experience of using this service:

People received exceptional, individualised care and support that was responsive to their needs. Care plans were person-centred and were regularly reviewed to ensure they reflected people's changing needs.

Relative's and healthcare professionals gave us extremely positive feedback about the standard of care provided at Valentine House. We also observed staff delivering kind, caring and compassionate support throughout our inspection.

Relatives told us staff treated people exceptionally well, ensuring they were respectful, compassionate and caring. People continued to be supported to maintain meaningful relationships with family members and people that mattered to them. Relatives spoke positively about the communication between themselves and staff and the support they received. They told us they were welcomed into the service and could visit as and when they wished.

The provider had significant oversight of the service. Robust audits ensured all issues identified were acted on in a timely manner. People's views were continually sought through questionnaires, general discussions and meetings. The registered manager placed great importance on partnership working to continually drive improvements.

Staff understood how to recognise signs of abuse and were confident in the action they would take to report any concerns.

The provider had arrangements to ensure only suitable staff were employed, and enough staff were deployed to keep people safe.

The registered manager and regional manager completed regular health and safety checks to ensure the environment was safe.

The service had effective systems in place to ensure people continued to receive their medicines safely and in-line with good practice. Robust medicines audits ensured issues identified were acted on swiftly, minimising the impact on people.

Staff continued to receive a variety of training to enhance their skills and knowledge. Staff reflected on their working practice through annual appraisals and regular supervision sessions with the registered manager.

The service had systems in place to manage and learn from complaints and concerns. Relatives were confident the registered manager would deal with any complaints in a timely manner.

The registered manager was involved in all aspects of the running of the home and provided her team with principled, person-centred leadership. They were well supported by the regional manager which ensured the provider had clear oversight of the service.

Rating at last inspection: Good (published 16 June 2016)

Why we inspected: This was a planned inspection based on the ratings at the last inspection.

Follow up: The service will continue to be monitored through the information we receive.

For more details, please see the full report which is on the CQC website at www.cqc.org.uk