About the service

Heather Grange is a residential home registered to provide accommodation and personal care for 70 people with a range of needs. At the time of the inspection, 59 people lived at the home. The home was split into four suites known as Village one, Village two, Garden and Woodlands. People living with dementia were provided with care and support on Garden suite.

People’s experience of using the service

People told us they felt safe living at Heather Grange. Staff understood how to safeguard people from abuse and report any concerns. People confirmed there were usually sufficient numbers of staff available to meet their needs. The provider had an effective recruitment procedure, which ensured only suitable staff were employed in the home. All areas of the home had a good standard of cleanliness. Risks to people’s health and safety had been assessed, recorded and reviewed at regular intervals.

The provider did not always manage people’s medicines safely which placed people at risk of harm.

People were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff supported them in the least restrictive way possible. However, the systems in the service did not always support this practice. We found staff had not carried out appropriate assessments for one person who expressed a wish to go out alone. A senior manager spent time with the person on the second day of inspection with a view to developing an appropriate risk assessment. People’s needs were assessed prior to them using the service.

The provider had appropriate arrangements to ensure all staff received training relevant to their role. New staff completed an induction training programme. The manager had devised a schedule to ensure all staff had a one to one meeting with their line manager.

People were supported to eat a nutritionally balanced diet. However, we observed staff focussed on tasks when supporting people with their meals and did not always respond in a timely way to people’s wishes. People had mixed views about the quality of the food provided. We recommended the provider improved people’s dining experiences. The area manager explained a food forum had been held in the home and this had resulted in a change in the menus. People were supported to maintain their health and a visiting healthcare professional provided positive feedback about the service.

We saw staff treated people with kindness and respect and spent time getting to know them and their specific needs and wishes. Our observations during the inspection, were of positive and warm interactions between staff and people who lived in the home. Whilst all people had a detailed care plan, there was limited evidence to demonstrate people had been consulted and involved in the care planning process. We also found staff had not fully explored and recorded people’s diversity needs.

People were aware of how they could raise a complaint or concern if they needed to and had access to a complaints procedure.

The provider’s quality assurance processes were not always effective in achieving positive outcomes for people. The manager was fully supported by senior managers who visited the home on a regular basis. They had developed action plans to ensure improvements were made to the service.

Rating at last inspection:

This was the first inspection of the service. The provider registered in December 2018.

Why we inspected:

This was a planned comprehensive inspection.

Enforcement

Please see the ‘action we have told the provider to take’ section towards the end of the report.

Follow-up

We will continue to monitor the service to ensure that people receive safe and high- quality care and re-inspect in line with the rating for the service. We may inspect sooner if we receive information of concern.

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