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Harmony House, Peel Green, Eccles, Manchester.

Harmony House in Peel Green, Eccles, Manchester is a Residential home specialising in the provision of services relating to accommodation for persons who require nursing or personal care and mental health conditions. The last inspection date here was 27th September 2017

Harmony House is managed by Reliance Care Homes Limited who are also responsible for 1 other location

Contact Details:

    Address:
      Harmony House
      651-653 Liverpool Road
      Peel Green
      Eccles
      Manchester
      M30 7BY
      United Kingdom
    Telephone:
      01617877401

Ratings:

For a guide to the ratings, click here.

Safe: Good
Effective: Good
Caring: Good
Responsive: Good
Well-Led: Good
Overall: Good

Further Details:

Important Dates:

    Last Inspection 2017-09-27
    Last Published 2017-09-27

Local Authority:

    Salford

Link to this page:

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Inspection Reports:

Click the title bar on any of the report introductions below to read the full entry. If there is a PDF icon, click it to download the full report.

31st August 2017 - During a routine inspection pdf icon

This unannounced inspection took place on Thursday 31 August 2017.

Harmony House provides 24 hour care and support to people living with mental health needs. The home is located in Eccles, Salford and is registered with the Care Quality Commission to provide accommodation to up to 12 people.

We last inspected Harmony House in February 2017 when the home was rated as ‘Requires Improvement’ overall and for the key questions ‘Safe’ and ‘Effective’. ‘Caring’ and ‘Responsive’ were rated as ‘Good’, however the well-led key question was rated as ‘Inadequate’. This was due to the home remaining as Requires Improvement at consecutive inspections and for on-going governance and quality monitoring issues at the service. As a result, we issued warning notices for regulation 17 (regarding good governance) to the registered manager and provider telling them they must improve.

Following our February 2017 inspection, the provider sent us an action plan detailing the changes and improvements they intended to make to improve the quality of service provided to people living at the home. We took this into account when planning this inspection to ensure these actions had been completed.

At this inspection, we found the provider had made all the required improvements and addressed all our concerns that had been highlighted last time we visited the home.

People told us they felt safe living at the home. The staff we spoke with had a good understanding of safeguarding, whistleblowing and how to report any concerns.

Improvements had been made to ensure medicines were handled safely. Cream charts and risk assessments for people who were able to take their own medication were now in place which had been an area of concern at our last inspection.

In February 2017, we had observed parts of the building to be in a poor state of repair. This included a wall and gate at the front of the home having fallen down, as well as dirty and worn arm chairs and settees in the lounge area. Since then, the wall and gate had been repaired and furniture replaced where necessary.

Staff were recruited safely with references from previous employers being sought and DBS (Disclosure Barring Service) checks undertaken. The home had not recruited any new staff since our previous inspection.

There were enough staff working at the home to meet people’s needs. Feedback from people living at the home and staff was that staffing levels were sufficient. Several staff had left since our last inspection including a support worker and a member of kitchen staff. The manager told us recruitment for these vacancies was currently ongoing.

Staff received an induction when they started working at the home, providing them with an insight to working at Harmony House. Improvements had been made with regards to staff training, supervision and appraisal which had been a concern at our last inspection.

At the time of this inspection there was nobody living at the home subject to a DoLS (Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards). People were free to leave the home when they wanted and went in to the community independently. People’s mental capacity was reviewed and we saw people were not being unlawfully deprived or detained.

We saw people received enough to eat and drink, with people also making positive comments about the food provided at the home. Meal times were flexible and we observed people entering the kitchen and making their own meals. Staff cooked an evening meal and several people told us they enjoyed going shopping with staff for meal ingredients and snacks.

All of the people we spoke with during the inspection, including people living at the home made positive comments about the care and support provided.

People told us they felt staff treated them with dignity and respect and promoted their independence where possible. People told us they enjoyed being independent and being able to go out on their own.

People felt the home was responsive to their needs. Each person living a

3rd February 2017 - During a routine inspection pdf icon

This unannounced inspection took place on Friday 3 February 2017.

Harmony House provides 24 hour care and support to people living with mental health difficulties. The home is located in Eccles, Salford and is registered with the Care Quality Commission to accommodate 12 people.

We last inspected Harmony House on 18 August 2015. The home was rated as ‘Requires Improvement’ overall and in the ‘Responsive’ and ‘Well-led’ key questions. This was due to care plans not being in place and a lack of quality assurance systems to monitor the service effectively. The key questions of ‘Safe’, ‘Effective’ and ‘Caring’ were rated as ‘Good’. A breach of regulation with regards to Good Governance was also identified. The home sent us an action plan following this inspection, detailing the improvements they planned to make.

During this inspection we identified four breaches of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014 in relation to Safe Care and Treatment, Premises and Equipment, Good Governance and Staffing. You can see what action we have asked the provider to take at the end of this report.

People living at the home told us they felt safe living at the home. The staff we spoke with had a good understanding of safeguarding, whistleblowing and how to report any concerns.

We looked at how medication was handled. This wasn’t always done safely because we found two missing risk assessments for people who self-medicated and also one cream chart that wasn’t in place, informing staff where this needed to be applied to the person’s body. This meant staff didn’t always have access to sufficient guidance about how people needed to receive their medication safely.

We observed that areas at the home were not always well maintained. For instance, the wall at the front of the home was crumbling and was in a poor state of disrepair. The gate at the front of the home, although not in use, was loose and hanging from the wall. This left the home looking unkempt from an external view and did not create a good first impression. The settee and arm chair in the main lounge were also worn and dirty and needed to be replaced. The manager acknowledged this and said this had been raised with the provider but not yet actioned.

Staff were recruited safely with references from previous employers being sought and Disclosure Barring Service (DBS) checks undertaken.

There were enough staff working at the home to meet people’s needs. Feedback from people living at the home and staff was that staffing levels were sufficient.

Staff received an induction when they started working at the home, providing them with an insight into working at Harmony House. Staff supervisions and appraisals however had fallen behind and were not being conducted in line with the homes policy and procedure which was every three months, with an annual appraisal in addition. The manager acknowledged this could be improved.

We found staff training had lapsed in areas such as Safeguarding and MCA/DoLS. Two members of staff also hadn’t undertaken medication training since 2014. One member of staff, who started working at the home in December 2016 hadn’t yet completed any training apart from medication. This member of staff worked alone at the home at night when we looked at the rotas. The manager said this training would be immediately scheduled following the inspection.

At the time of the inspection we were told there was nobody currently subject to a Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS) order. People were free to leave the home when they wanted to and we saw people weren’t unlawfully deprived or detained and went out into the community independently.

We saw people received enough to eat and drink, with people also making positive comments about the food provided at the home. Meal times were flexible and we observed people entering the kitchen and making their own meals. Staff cooked an evening meal and several people told us they enjoyed going shop

18th August 2015 - During a routine inspection pdf icon

Harmony House is owned by Reliance Care Homes Ltd. It is a residential care home that provides care, support and accommodation for people who are living with a mental health illness. The home accepts placements for both male and female residents. The vast majority of people live there on a permanent basis, whilst others may develop the skills required to move into their own accommodation. Onsite facilities include a kitchen area, laundry room and communal area, with adequate car parking facilities at the front of the building and in nearby side streets. The home is situated in the Eccles area of Salford, Greater Manchester.

We carried out our inspection of Harmony House on 18 August 2015. At the previous inspection in August 2013, we found the service was meeting each of the standards assessed.

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.

We spoke with two people who lived at the home who all told us they felt safe as a result of the support they received. One person said; “Yes. Certainly do feel safe living here. Thankfully I am still able to look after myself though”.

People’s medicines were looked after properly by staff that had been given training to help them with this. We saw medicines were stored in a locked cabinet in the office, with only senior members of staff having access to the key.

We looked at how the service managed risk. We found individual risk assessments had been completed for each person and recorded in their support plan. There were detailed management strategies to provide staff with guidance on how to safely manage risks and also ensure people’s independence, rights and lifestyle choices were respected.

People were protected against some of the risks of abuse because the home had a robust recruitment procedure in place. Appropriate checks were carried out before staff began work at the home to ensure they were fit to work with vulnerable adults. During the inspection we looked at three staff personnel files. Each file contained job application forms, a minimum of two references and evidence of either a CRB or DBS (Criminal Records Bureau or Disclosure Barring Service) check being undertaken.

We looked at how the service ensured there were sufficient numbers of staff to meet people’s needs and keep them safe. We looked at the staff rotas. We found the home had sufficient skilled staff to meet people's needs. It became apparent to us that the vast majority of people living at the home were independent and could ‘Come and go’ from the home as they pleased. Staff said that for some people, they needed to offer little support other than with tasks such as medicines and support around meal times.

All staff were given the training and support they needed to help them look after people properly. We saw that any training completed by staff was accurately recorded on the home’s training matrix. The home manager also kept a supervision matrix, which showed that staff had access to regular supervision every three to four months.

The Mental Capacity Act 2005 (MCA 2005) sets out what must be done to make sure the human rights of people who may lack mental capacity to make decisions are protected. The Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS) provides a legal framework to protect people who need to be deprived of their liberty to ensure they receive the care and treatment they need, where there is no less restrictive way of achieving this. From our discussions with managers and staff and from looking at records we found all staff had received training about the MCA and DoLS. Several of the staff had attended a course provided by Salford Council within the last 12 months.

People living in the home were involved in the planning of the menus and went shopping with staff to local shops and supermarkets. People, who were able to, were given support by staff to prepare their own meals. There was no set meal for lunch time and people living in the home were able to choose either to dine in or out of the house at a time convenient to them.

We observed staff being kind, friendly and respectful of people's choices and opinions. The atmosphere in the home was relaxed and the staff spoken with had a good knowledge of the people they supported. People living at the home had good access to the local community and told us they liked to go out as much as possible.

We looked at three care plans of people living at the home. It also became apparent to us that three people living at the home did not have care plans in place, where staff could access information about their support needs. We raised this with the manager who showed us the initial assessment which staff would refer to if needed which had been undertaken by social services. One of the people with no care plan had lived at the home since April 2015. The manager told us these care plans would be put in place immediately

The complaints procedure in place. The procedure was clearly displayed near the main entrance of the home. We looked at the complaints log and saw complaints had been responded to appropriately, with a response given to the individual complainant.

The staff we spoke with spoke positively about the management and leadership of the home. One member of staff said; “The home is well managed. The manager has plenty of time for the residents and nothing is too much for her”.

We found that there were limited systems in place to monitor the quality of service provided to people at the home. The manager told us that there was no formal auditing process used which would cover areas such as care plans, the environment, staff training, medication and infection control. The manager told us they did keep on top of these checks but did not document any of it to show what was found as a result. Additionally, the manager said that there was no documentary evidence of staff competency checks, to ensure they were able to undertake their role to the required standard, particularly in areas such as medication. This is a breach of regulation 17 (2) (a) of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014 in relation to Good Governance.

12th August 2013 - During a routine inspection pdf icon

On the day of our inspection there were 11 people living at Harmony House, and we were able to speak with five people to find out what it was like for them living there. Comments from people included; “I have lived here for many years. I am happy here” and “We can do as we please here. I like going to the local pub with my friend” and “All the staff are great. We like the staff. They look after us well” and “We are very lucky with what we have got here”.

Overall, we found that people were happy and felt well supported by all the staff. We found that people were able to come and go as they pleased, and took part in activities which gave them pleasure.

During our inspection we found there were appropriate systems in place for people to provide consent to their care and support.

We looked at how people living at Harmony House received their medication and looked at the systems in place to ensure this was done safely. One person said to us;” I get my medication on time. I know when I need it anyway but the staff are good”.

We spoke to staff to establish if they felt suitably supported to carry out their job role effectively. One member of staff said; “This is my first job working in care. I feel I was given a good introduction when I started and there is plenty of support available”.

We found that there were effective systems in place to monitor the quality of service provision at Harmony House.

5th September 2012 - During a routine inspection pdf icon

Comments from this years satisfaction questionnaire that was sent to people who visited the home included:

“The home is excellent; the staff encourages and support people to pursue their own interests”.

“The home is well maintained”.

“The staff have excellent knowledge and understanding of peoples individuals needs”.

“The manager and staff have good contact with both families and residents. This important for the well being of the residents”.

People who lived at the home told us:

“I am very happy here, the staff are lovely”.

“I’m fine with everything”.

“It is great living here, I love it. I have been in other places but this is the best”.

 

 

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