Newport House
Contract Monitoring Report
- Name/Address of Provider: Newport House, Abertysswg
- Date of Visit: Wednesday 25 October, 2023, 10.30 – 1.30 p.m.
- Visiting Officer(s): Andrea Crahart, Contract Monitoring Officer, Commissioning Team, Caerphilly CBC
- Present: Claire Hobbs, Registered Manager
- Nigel Hobbs, Responsible Individual (present for part of the visit)
Background
Newport House is a large, 2-storey property which is home to people with a learning disability, and/or physical disability. It is set in a quiet residential area of Abertysswg within the Rhymney valley.
At the time of the visit there were five residents living at the home (three people were funded by Caerphilly Borough Council and two people via Newport City Council).
A Contract Monitoring visit had previously been undertaken in 2022. Since this time the Care Inspectorate Wales (CIW) have also inspected the Home who identified some areas for improvement.
No complaints or safeguarding concerns have been received within CCBC Social Services within the last year.
The Home have obtained a Food Hygiene rating of 5 which is rated as being very good.
Dependant on the findings within the report, corrective and developmental actions will be given to the provider to complete. Corrective actions are those which must be completed (as governed by legislation etc), and developmental actions are those which are deemed good practice to be completed.
Previous Recommendations
Training relating to epilepsy and DoLS to be followed up with the relevant organisations. Timescale: within 6 months. RISCA Regulation 36. Action met.
Statement of Purpose and Service User Guide to be reviewed to ensure only current terminology and legislation is referred to. Timescale: Within 1 month. RISCA Regulation 7. Action met.
Developmental Actions
None.
Responsible Individual
The Responsible Individual (RI) is required to have oversight of the service on a regular basis to report on its compliance, quality and performance. There was evidence that visits had been undertaken on a regular basis with quarterly and six monthly reports having been produced in recent months.
The Home’s Statement of Purpose and Service User Guide were received and were up to date having been reviewed this year.
The Home’s contingency plan in the event that the manager is absent would be that the senior carer would cover in their absence, or a member of the Pride in Care management team.
Mandatory policies/procedures (e.g. safeguarding, training/development etc.) were viewed and had been reviewed this year.
Registered Manager
The manager manages another service within Caerphilly borough as well as Newport House. The manager continues to be registered with Social Care Wales (the workforce regulator).
The property has CCTV in operation (surveillance) that is just used to survey the outside area of the property.
People are able to alter the temperature in their rooms as radiators are able to be individually controlled.
There is an expectation that the manager will forward any Regulation 60’s (incident records regarding the service or individuals) to Care Inspectorate Wales (CIW) and the Commissioning Team when they occur. The RI reports indicated that there had been no reason to submit these to date this year.
It was evident from one of the files viewed that a Deprivation of Liberty (DoLS) application for an individual who does not have capacity to make their own decisions had been submitted to the DoLs Team for their assessment.
Community participation is encouraged by the Home where care workers undertake visits into the community.
File and Documentation Audit
A resident’s file was examined which was well organised with an index and dividers.
The file contained a pre-admission assessment providing initial information from Caerphilly County Borough Council (CCBC) and Care and Support Plan Reviews (CCBC) etc.
A Personal Plan (Service Delivery Plan) was available which included a pictorial illustration of some of the areas of care and areas the person requires support with i.e. mobility, diet/nutrition, personal care, mobility etc. The plan also included the person’s outcomes/aspirations so that some personal goals could be worked towards, and it was evident that support staff had captured when some attainments had been reached.
Risk Assessments were present in relation to a number of areas of risk and a daily routine was in place with pictorial illustrations which were comprehensive and detailed.
The file contained letters relating to health appointments that had been undertaken and were being planned for. There were also financial records that clearly showed the income that the person receives and expenditure for personal items bought. There was a running balance, two staff had signed for each transaction and there were receipts attached to the monthly record sheets.
Staffing and Training
Newport House continues to enjoy very good staff retention, with the large majority of staff having worked at the Home since it first opened in 2017. This is positive for the residents as they benefit from consistency and staff know the residents well.
There appeared to be sufficient staff on duty during the monitoring visit. The service has a waking night shift in place.
Any staff absences are covered via the existing staff team or via the sister Home within the borough, and the manager is ‘on call’ to assist also.
Staff undertake training in the form of E-learning or face to face training arranged via Pride in Care. Staff files contained training certificates which confirmed that training had been attended. The training matrix indicated that the majority of staff had attended training and mostly in recent years, however there were some gaps in training noted.
The majority of staff have achieved an NVQ/QCF qualification in social care (either level 2 or 3), or are working towards a qualification.
New staff are shadowed in their role which includes observations of practice in terms of medication administration, general checks, manual handling and health and safety. Spot checks are also undertaken on a regular basis and cover key areas such as service user interactions, medication administration and food preparation.
There are no staff members working over 40 hours a week, but staff mostly work part time hours, with senior carers working full time.
‘The Active Offer – More than just words’ (the Welsh Language Act) is not currently being implemented at the Home as no one requires the use of the Welsh language at this time. The Home’s Statement of Purpose is reflective of this.
Staff files
Two staff files were examined as part of the monitoring process. Both files contained indexes and dividers making it easier to find information.
Files showed that a robust recruitment process had taken place which included e.g. two written references, a photograph of the staff member, ID (birth certificates, passport etc), interview records, application forms which did not have any gaps in employment, and it was evident that DBS (Disclosure and Barring Service) certificates had been obtained. There were signed Contracts of Employment which included a job description and training certificates.
The Interview record template made reference to the sister Care Home as opposed to Newport House.
Supervision and Appraisal
The supervision and appraisal matrix indicated that staff were receiving regular supervision sessions on a quarterly basis and that appraisals had been held, or were planned for. These are held on a 1:1 basis with the manager of the service.
Approach to care/observations
It was evident from a resident’s file that they are supported to keep in contact with a relative and that telephone conversations are held on a regular basis which is positive for the person’s wellbeing.
People looked well kempt and were dressed according to the weather conditions.
Some people require the use of wheelchairs (manual and electric), with one person requiring a specialist chair and the use of a ceiling hoist to enable them to get in and out of bed. There is a lift to transfer people between floors, and there is an arrangement for this to be serviced regularly.
Residents are supported to access the community where they enjoy going out for meals etc. and are able to enjoy the outside garden areas during good weather.
Care staff take the lead in preparing food and serving meals for residents.
Fire/Health and Safety
A Fire Risk Assessment was completed in October 2021 which highlighted some areas for addressing. The Responsible Individual agreed to check that these had all been completed.
Fire drills had been undertaken at regular internals i.e. August 2023, February 2023 and June 2022 involving residents and staff. Some details of the drill (duration of the drill) had been omitted from the records.
There were individual Personal Emergency Evacuation Plan (PEEP’s) in place for all residents and had been completed according to people’s individual needs, outlining how many staff members would be needed to support people in the event of a fire and according to where they would be within the property.
Complaints/Compliments
It was evident from recent RI reports that no complaints had been received. However, if a complaint is received the manager has a process which is clearly defined in the Home’s Statement of Purpose to address and respond accordingly.
Staff are made aware of how to raise a complaint through their staff induction and by making people who are cared for and their families aware of the procedure.
Service user and Stakeholder feedback
The RI continues to monitor and obtain direct feedback from residents during his visits to the Home.
The Home Environment
Newport House continues to be a very welcoming and beautiful Home to live in which is clean, well decorated and well furbished. The hallways had been re-decorated this year and a new window had been fitted to a bathroom to ensure there was adequate ventilation.
As the visit was nearing Halloween staff had decorated the kitchen and the lounge with a Halloween theme.
There are locks on bathrooms and bedroom doors in addition to there being lockable cabinets in each person’s own bedroom for personal belongings to be stored.
People are able to access the garden areas and the manager continues to have plans to develop the areas with a sensory garden to enhance it further.
Staff questions
Specific questions from the monitoring tool were not asked during this monitoring visit.
Resident questions
Some conversations were held with residents during the course of the visit.
Corrective Actions
Training to be organised for some staff who have not undertaken all their training courses and for some who have not undertaken since 2017/2018. Timescale: Within 6 months. RISCA Regulation 36.
Fire drills to include the duration of the fire drill when records are made. Timescale: Ongoing. RISCA Regulation 57.
Developmental Actions
To ensure that documentation used relates to Newport House. Timescale: Ongoing.
Conclusion
Newport House continues to be a very welcoming Home which is very spacious and provides people with a lovely home to live in. The Home has been decorated and furnished to a high standard.
Staff are supported to access training and receive supervisions at regular intervals, with quality assurance checks being in place to ensure staff are supported to work to the best of their ability.
Documentation continues to be robust with information being written comprehensively and robust are processes in place which are overseen by the RI.
The Contract Monitoring Officer would like to take this opportunity to thank the Manager, staff and people supported at Newport House for their time and hospitality.
- Author: Andrea Crahart
- Designation: Contract Monitoring Officer
- Date: October, 2023