About the service:

Moor Villa provides care and support for a maximum of 16 older people who live with dementia, mental and/or physical health conditions. At the time of our inspection there were 13 people living at the home. Moor Villa is located on a main thoroughfare in Kirkham and is close to local community services. The detached property has two lounges, a dining area and sufficient washing facilities. Individual and twin bedrooms are located over two floors.

People’s experience of using this service:

People and their relatives stated they felt safe whilst at Moor Villa. One person told us, “Yes, I feel very safe and settled here.” Staff had a good level of awareness about safeguarding people from unsafe care and abuse.

The provider had sufficient staffing levels and skill mixes at Moor Villa. Staff confirmed they had adequate time to support people and engage with them. One employee said, “There's enough staff here. We have plenty of time to sit and chat with the residents.”

The registered manager provided staff with regular medication training to ensure they were knowledgeable and skilled at administration. People told us their medication was managed safely.

Staff had a good awareness about how to manage risks and reduce the potential of harm or injury. They completed risk assessments intended to minimise the risk of harm and unsafe care, which included actions to mitigate hazards. A relative stated, “There are a lot of risks associated with [my relative’s] medical diagnosis and they manage that really well.”

People were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff supported them in the least restrictive way possible. The policies and systems in the service supported this practice. A staff member told us, “We make sure their human rights are respected every time, that we are not stopping them from making their decisions or from going wherever they want.”

The registered manager developed care planning and risk assessment around protecting people from malnutrition. People told us they enjoyed their meals. One person said, “The food is great. You get a good choice and there's always plenty on your plate.”

The management team had a wide-ranging training programme to ensure staff had the skills to effectively support people. An employee told us, “Training is vital in this role. We get plenty of training, no worries there.”

Staff worked hard at helping people and relatives feel welcomed at Moor Villa through a friendly and considerate approach. A relative commented, “The staff interact really well with [my relative]. She sees them as her friends, which is very important because we are all the family she has.”

Staff planned care that was personalised to people’s needs, preferences and choice. Care was focused on assisting them to maintain their independence. One person said, “I see them with the other residents and they are marvellous. They have a very caring, patient manner.”

People confirmed the home had a strong management team. One person stated, “Yes, it's a good home and the managers make sure it stays that way.” The management team completed frequent assessments of everyone’s safety and the quality of care delivery.

Rating at last inspection: At the last inspection the service was rated good (published 29 October 2016).

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

Follow up: We will continue to monitor intelligence we receive about the service until we return to visit as per our re-inspection programme. If any issues or concerns are identified we may inspect sooner.

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

This inspection visit took place on 28 September 2016 and was unannounced.

At the last inspection on 25 July 2013 the service was meeting the requirements of the regulations that were inspected at that time.

Moor Villa provides accommodation and 24 hour care and support for up to 16 older people. The home is located on a main thoroughfare of the town and is close to local community services. Moor Villa is a detached property with shared communal space. Individual and twin bedroom accommodation are located on the ground and first floors. Accommodation is provided on a short to long term basis. At the time of our inspection visit there were 12 people who lived at the home.

There was a registered manager in place. 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.

The environment was generally clean and tidy. However, we found areas of the home had not been properly maintained and kept clean. We have made a recommendation about this.

We found medication procedures at the home were safe. Staff responsible for the administration of medicines had received training to ensure they had the competency and skills required. Medicines were safely kept with appropriate arrangements for storing in place.

Care plans were organised and had identified the care and support people required. We found they were informative about care people had received. They had been kept under review and updated when necessary to reflect people’s changing needs. However, we found staff had not always recorded details about how support should be delivered to people. We have made a recommendation about this.

The provider used a variety of methods to assess and monitor the quality of the service. These included satisfaction surveys and care reviews.

We looked at the recruitment of four staff members. We found appropriate checks had been undertaken before they had commenced their employment confirming they were safe to work with vulnerable people.

Staff spoken with and records seen confirmed a structured induction training and development programme was in place. Staff received regular training and were knowledgeable about their roles and responsibilities. They had the skills, knowledge and experience required to support people with their care and social needs.

We found the registered manager had systems in place to record safeguarding concerns, accidents and incidents and take necessary action as required. Staff had received safeguarding training and understood their responsibilities to report unsafe care or abusive practices.

The registered manager understood the requirements of the Mental Capacity Act 2005 (MCA) and the Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS). This meant they were working within the law to support people who may lack capacity to make their own decisions.

We found sufficient staffing levels were in place to provide support people required. We saw staff members could undertake tasks supporting people without feeling rushed.

We found equipment used by staff to support people had been maintained and serviced to ensure they were safe for use.

People we spoke with told us they were happy with the variety and choice of meals available to them. We saw regular snacks and drinks were provided between meals to ensure people received adequate nutrition and hydration.

People told us they enjoyed the activities organised by the service. These were arranged both individually and in groups.

The service had a complaints procedure which was made available to people on their admission to the home. People we spoke with told us they were happy and had no complaints.

We found people had access to healthcare professionals and their healthcare needs were met.

We

We visited Moor Villa as part of our planned schedule of inspections and to follow up on areas on noncompliance identified at our last inspection in March 2013. Since our last inspection the provider company has changed but the people who own and operate Moor Villa are the same. We looked at outcomes 4, 7, 8, 12 and 16. The areas of noncompliance for outcomes 4 and 8 from our last inspection had been met. The provider sent us an action plan outlining when the compliance actions would be completed and had achieved this. Outcomes 7, 12 and 16 were judged compliant.

People told us that they were happy with the levels of care and support provided by staff at the home. One person told us, “It is the staff that makes living here a pleasure”.

We saw staff related to people positively and were supportive and knowledgeable about people who lived at the home. The relative of a person living at the home told us, “This is the first time we have visited dad here. The staff seem really nice and they have asked us to help them to do dad’s care plan. The male carer said he would go out with dad and wants to get to know dad better”.

People told us that they felt safe living at Moor Villa and that staff were supportive of their safety. We saw that there had been improvements in care and support planning.

We also found that infection control and cleanliness in the communal bathrooms and toilets had improved and the provider had refurbished a ground floor bathroom.