About the service:

Enstone House is a residential care home. People in care homes receive accommodation and personal care as a single package under one contractual agreement. CQC regulates both the premises and the care provided, and both were looked at during this inspection. The service can provide accommodation and care to 36 people. At the time of the inspection 32 people lived there.

People’s experience of using this service:

People received safe care and treatment. There was sufficient staffing to keep people safe. People received their medicines safely and as prescribed. Risks to people’s individual conditions and well-being were assessed, recorded and updated when needed. The registered manager reflected on where things could be improved to benefit the service operations and people.

People’s needs were assessed to ensure people’s care was delivered in line with their care plans. People were cared for by staff that received relevant training and told us they were well supported. People told us and we observed people’s rights to make own decisions were respected. We however found the documentation around decision making needed improving. We identified for example, Deprivation of Liberty applications were made for people who were not being deprived of their liberty. People were encouraged to maintain good diet and access health services as required.

People continued to be cared for by caring and kind staff. People complimented staff and the positive caring relationships they had with the staff. We identified staff did not always refer to people in a dignified way as a labelling comment made by staff could be interpreted as belittling. The registered manager reassured us this was not intentionally derogatory and that they were going to address it with the team. Privacy, including people’s diverse needs and individual communication needs were respected.

People’s care plans gave details of how people liked to be supported. The staff knew people’s needs well and how to best support them. We however found people’s support was not always delivered in an appropriate manner. The feedback received from people, relative and professionals as well as the records demonstrated people did not always received meaningful activities in line with their choices, preferences and assessed needs. People knew how to make a complain but told us they never needed to and there was a system to record any complaints received. No people received end of life care at the time of our inspection.

There was a registered manager in post and a clear staffing structure. We found the quality assurance processes were not always effective as did not identify concerns we found during our inspection visit. People, staff and relatives were involved and told us they felt listened to. The team at Enstone House worked well in partnership with other agencies and the local social and health professionals.

Rating at last inspection:

Good (report published 26 July 2016).

Why we inspected:

This was our scheduled, planned inspection based on previous rating.

Follow up:

We will monitor all intelligence received about the service to inform the assessment of the risk profile of the service and to ensure the next planned inspection is scheduled accordingly.

More information is in Detailed Findings below.

We inspected Enstone House on 15 June 2016. Enstone House provides personal care for people over the age of 65, with a diagnosis of dementia. The home offers a service for up to 36 people. At the time of our visit 36 people were using the service.

There was a registered manager in post at the service. 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.

At our last inspection on 12 May 2015 we found that not all relevant checks had been completed for one individual before they worked unsupervised and there was no risk assessment for this staff member in place. This was a breach of Regulation 19 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014. We also found the registered manager had no system in place to audit incidents which would enable them to identify trends or concerns across the service. We also identified there was no evidence of the actions which had been taken following the satisfaction survey. Additionally there were no audits of medicines, care plans or other measures of how the registered manager or provider monitored the quality of the care people received. This was a breach of Regulation 17 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014.

At this inspection we found the provider had addressed the above concerns. We saw the risk assessments for staff had been put in place where required. The registered manager ensured the safe recruitment practices were followed. We noted accident and incident recording procedures were in place and appropriate action had been taken where necessary. A number of audits was introduced and carried out regularly. This included care plan audits, medication audits, monthly house audit and a cleaning audit. We noted a responsive action was taken if required. The registered manager also ensured any action arising from satisfaction surveys were followed up promptly.

People and their relatives told us they had no concerns about people’s safety at the home. There were safeguarding procedures in place and staff received training on safeguarding vulnerable people. Staff had the skills and knowledge to recognise and respond to any safeguarding concerns.

Risks to people were identified and managed well. A range of detailed risk assessments were in place and identified how to manage the risk of injury or harm to people during the provision of support.

Medicines were administered in line with safe practice. Staff who assisted people with their medicines received appropriate training to enable them to do so safely. People were supported to maintain a balanced diet. People were also supported to access health care professionals when required.

We found there were sufficient staffing levels to meet people's needs effectively. The staff team worked well together and were committed to ensure people were kept safe and their needs were met appropriately.

There was an on-going training programme to ensure staff had the skills required to carry out their roles. Staff received appropriate support through induction and supervision. Staff told us they felt able to speak with the management team or senior staff at any time.

The Care Quality Commission (CQC) is required by law to monitor the operation of the Mental Capacity Act 2005 (MCA) and the Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS) and report on what we find. Staff and the registered manager understood the MCA and DoLS and the provider followed the legal requirements.

People were cared for by caring and compassionate staff that knew them well. The staff treated people with dignity and respect. People were encouraged to be involved in decisions about their care. There were a range of activities on offer for

We inspected Enstone House on 12 May 2015. Enstone House provides residential care for people with a diagnosis of dementia, over the age of 65. The home offers a service for up to 36 people. At the time of our visit 33 people were using the service, however one person was currently in hospital. This was an unannounced inspection.

We last inspected in June 2013 and found the service was meeting all of the required standards. However, we did recommend that the registered manager carry out audits on incident and accidents which occurred within the service.

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 2008 and associated Regulations about how the service is run.

People, their relatives and staff spoke positively about the registered manager. The registered manager had some informal systems to manage and improve the quality of the service, however concerns and actions were not always documented. There were not always effective systems in place to ensure trends were identified from incidents and accidents or from other concerns within the service.

There were enough staff deployed to meet the care needs of people living at the home. However, the registered manager had not assessed the risk posed by staff working before all employment background checks had been completed.

People and their relatives told us they felt safe living at the home. Staff had good knowledge of safeguarding procedures. People received their medicines as prescribed.

People were supported by kind, caring and attentive staff. Staff took their time to support people with choice and support them in the local community. People and their relatives told us there were things to do, however on the day of our inspection some people went long periods of time without meaningful engagement from staff. There was limited evidence about activities people enjoyed within the home.

People enjoyed the relationships they had with staff and staff knew people, their needs and preferences. People were cared for by skilled care and nursing staff. People told us they were treated with dignity and respect and staff supported people with kindness and patience.

People’s needs were documented and these were reviewed and updated monthly or more frequently if needed. However, some documents around people's mental capacity were not always reflective of people's abilities and needs. The registered manager told us this would be acted on immediately. 

Staff had knowledge of the Mental Capacity Act 2005 (MCA provides the legal framework to assess people’s capacity to make certain decisions, at a certain time) and Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards. The service ensured where people could not make specific decisions, best interest decisions were conducted and respected.

Senior care staff were supported and encouraged by the registered manager to take on key responsibilities such as documenting people's care needs and the management of medicines.

We found two breaches of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014. You can see what action we told the provider to take at the back of the full version of this report.

We spoke with five people who used the service. When asked about consent they all said that care workers asked permission before administering care. One person said “They don’t do anything without asking me first”. Another said “they listen to me, if I say no, they know it means no”.

People told us they were happy at the home. One person told us, “I can’t complain. I’m looked after. We have a bit of humour with the staff. The manager is very good”. Another person told us, “they look after me, it’s nice here”. While one person told us, “I like it here, it’s very nice. I like the carer’s, it’s alright”.

Audits were conducted on peoples’ medication on a monthly basis by the deputy manager and the home’s pharmacist conduct a yearly audit of medications. This meant that peoples’ medications were stored securely and appropriate systems were in place to ensure medications were kept safe.

People who used the service felt that staff were knowledgeable and received appropriate training. One person told us “staff are lovely, they know what assistance I need”. One told us, “Staff are very good. If you want something, they’ll help. They give as much time as they can”.

The provider conducted care reviews every three months with people and their representatives. These reviews showed that the provider took into consideration peoples’ and their representatives views. We saw one person’s family member attended their relative’s review, which was arranged at their convenience.

We spoke to four people all of whom told us they enjoyed living in the home. They said they were comfortable to raise concerns with the carers or registered manager. One person told us that it was a “lovely home” and another person told us she “loved it here." People we spoke to said the staff were “very kind” and said there were “polite and nice staff.” One person said she received “very good care." People told us about activities they enjoyed including bingo and tea-dances. One person said she listened to taped stories in her room.

We observed that staff respected and involved people. Some people’s needs were not accurately assessed and reflected in their individual care plans. Staff in the home had received adequate training on safeguarding vulnerable adults. They were aware of how to respond and what to do if there were concerns about a person’s safety. We saw staff co-operated with each other and worked together. The provider assessed and monitored the quality of care provided.

People we spoke to told us that they were happy with the home. They had lots of visitors and they went out a lot. They told us that care staff were kind and looked after them well. Some people told us that they had been involved in choosing the home whilst others said their relatives had come to look round first. People told us that they liked the food and that they had a choice in when and where they ate. People told us that they were asked if the care they were getting was given in a way which respected their dignity and privacy. People told us that if they had any problems with the home they could talk to the manager, who they felt would be able to find a mutually agreeable solution.