This inspection took place on 31 October 2014.
Marcris House is registered to provide accommodation for 32 older people who require personal care. There were 27 people living in the home on the day of our inspection.
The service had not had a registered manager working there since December 2013. 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.
The provider had not told us about events that they were required to so that we could see that they were taking suitable action to manage these properly. Systems to check the quality and safety of the service were not effective. Up to date guidance about protecting people’s rights had not been followed and clear explanations were not always recorded for decisions made on a people’s behalf. You can see what action we told the provider to take at the back of the full version of the report.
People felt safe. Areas of the premises were not well maintained. Staff were appointed after checks were completed to ensure they were of suitable character to look after the people they supported. There were enough staff available to meet people’s needs and support people individually. Medicines were safely stored and were given to people in the way that was prescribed for them.
People were provided with nutritious food that they enjoyed and they were given the help they needed to eat and drink well. People were supported to gain access to health professionals and services that they needed. Aspects of the environment were not effectively adapted to meet people’s needs.
Staff felt well supported and most had received the training needed to do their job well. Staff asked people’s agreement before carrying out any care and tasks.
People felt well cared for by kind and caring staff who treated them with dignity and respect. Staff took time to communicate with people living in the service in a way that people were able to accept and benefit from. People spoke highly of the staff and the level of care they provided to people living in the service. Visitors were welcomed and people’s right to privacy was upheld.
People’s care was planned and reviewed with them or the person acting on their behalf. This made sure that people’s preferences were included and that staff had information on how best to meet people’s needs.
People felt able to raise any complaints and were sure they would be listened to. Information to help them to make a complaint was readily available. Complaints received by the service were responded to promptly.