Care service description

The Pantiles is a care home that provides care, support and accommodation for a maximum of 16 older people some of whom were living with dementia. At the time of the inspection 15 people were living at the service.

Rating at last inspection

At our last inspection we rated the service good. At this inspection we found the evidence continued to support the rating of good and there was no evidence or information from our inspection and ongoing monitoring that demonstrated serious risks or concerns. This inspection report is written in a shorter format because our overall rating of the service has not changed since our last inspection.

Why the service is rated good

People felt safe with staff and staff were aware of the safeguarding procedure. Relatives also felt their family members were safe. There were sufficient levels of staff on duty to ensure that people’s needs were met. Recruitment was robust to ensure that only appropriate staff were employed.

Risks to people’s care was managed well by staff and people received their medicines in a safe way. Regular health and safety checks of the premises and equipment were carried out. The provider had up-to date procedures to help ensure people remained safe in an emergency. Staff were effective in ensuring the service was clean and that they adhered to good infection control.

People were treated in a caring and respectful way by staff. We observed staff to be kind and considerate to people. People were supported with their independence and had choices around their delivery of care. Visitors and family were welcomed to the service.

People's needs had been assessed before moving in to the service. Care plans reflected people's needs and preferences. Care plans were evaluated regularly so they contained information about people's current needs. People had access to health care professionals and staff followed the advice given. People were supported with their nutrition and hydration needs and people enjoyed the food provided to them.

Staff received appropriate training and supervision in relation to their role. Staff understood the principles of the MCA and what they needed to do if they suspected a person lacked capacity. The environment of the service was set up to meet the needs of people.

People chose how they spent their time and could take part in activities if they wanted to. Trips were arranged for people outside of the service. Staff worked well together and communicated changes to people’s needs to each other. People received good end of life care. Improvements were being made around the planning of end of life care.

People told us that they would speak to staff if they had any concerns. There was a complaints procedure in place and complaints were investigated and responded to.

The provider carried out quality assurance checks to ensure people received a good standard of care. Staff consulted with outside professionals to ensure the best delivery of care. People and staff had provided feedback when they were consulted about the service. Notification were sent to the CQC where appropriate.

Further information is in the detailed findings below.

This was an unannounced inspection that took place on 3 May 2016.

The Pantiles Care Home provides care and accommodation for 16 people. It is a detached house in a residential area close to the village of Ashtead.

The home had a registered manager. 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 and associated Regulations about how the service is run.

In July 2013, our inspection found that the service met the regulations we inspected against. At this inspection the home met the regulations.

People and their relatives told us that this was a nice place to live and staff provided very good support and care that was delivered in a respectful way. People were given the opportunity to do what they wanted and joined in the activities provided if they wished.

The home had a warm and welcoming atmosphere that was enabling and inclusive. Visitors during the inspection told us that they were always made welcome. The home provided a safe environment for people to live and work in and was well maintained and clean. The décor was currently acceptable, although looking a little tired and the home had a planned refurbishment programme that was to commence in the near future.

There were thorough up to date records kept, although the historic records required archiving. The care plans contained clearly recorded, fully completed, and regularly reviewed information. This enabled staff to perform their duties appropriately.

The staff knew the people they worked with well including their likes, dislikes, routines and preferences. During our visit people received the same attentive service and everyone was treated equally. Staff had appropriate skills, qualifications and were focussed on providing individualised care and support in a professional, friendly and compassionate way. Whilst professional they were also accessible to people using the service and their relatives. Staff said they had access to good training, support and career advancement.

People were protected from nutrition and hydration associated risks with balanced diets that also met their likes, dislikes and preferences. They said the choice of meals and quality of the food provided was very good. People were encouraged to discuss health needs with staff and had access to community based health care professionals, if they required them.

The home’s management team were approachable, responsive, encouraged feedback from people and consistently monitored and assessed the quality of the service provided.

We visited Pantiles to look at the care and welfare of people who used the service. We spoke with seven people and spent time in the dining room to observe the lunch time meal service.

All people that we spoke with said they liked living at the home. One person told us “The staff are always asking what do you want or what can I do for you. They really are lovely.” Another person said “It’s very good here, very good indeed.”

We looked at people’s care plans and documentation. We found clear information that showed us people had consented to a variety of different things at the home.

We observed lunch service in the dining room. We saw people who used the service enjoying lunch. One person said “The meat is beautifully seasoned.” Another told us “The food is great here.”

We saw that there were systems in place to protect people from abuse. Staff had received training. Information about what to do if abuse was suspected was available.

We saw that the provider carried out appropriate checks when employing staff. This ensured staff were of good character and had the necessary skills and experience to do the job.

The provider had systems in place which ensured complaints were listened to and taken seriously.

We spoke to four of the fifteen people using the service and three relatives to help us understand the experiences of people using the service. Not all people using the service were able to give us feed back so we used the Short Observational Framework for Inspection (SOFI). SOFI is a specific way of observing care to help us understand the experience of people who could not talk with us.

The people using the service told us they loved living at the home. All told us the staff were kind towards them and were always chatting with them and organising activities. All four people told us they enjoyed meeting up in the lounge and talking together. They had all enjoyed watching the Olympics and Paralympics and were keen to tell us about the events they had seen.

We spoke to the relatives of three people, who told us that without exception the care and kindness shown towards their relatives was unbelievable. They told us the staff are fantastic, the place is amazing and they gave examples of “the little things” staff do. One person told us “honey and lemon was made for mum when she had a cold” and another said “the manager sent me texts and emails on how mum was when I was out of the country for an extended period.”