About the service Marsh House is a residential care home providing personal and nursing care to 25 people aged 65 and over at the time of the inspection. The service can support up to 33 people. The home is situated in a rural area close to the towns of Chorley and Leyland. There is a large dining room, communal areas and a conservatory area. A well maintained garden is available at the rear of the home for people's leisure.
People’s experience of using this service and what we found
People told us they felt safe. However the provider failed to demonstrate that medicines were managed safely. Best practice for the administration of medicines was not consistently followed. The provider did not ensure risk was consistently managed. Ongoing recruitment led to a reliance on agency staff with contracted staff completing multiple roles within the home. Not all staff had received timely training to complete their roles.
The environment was not visibly clean in some areas. The home was being refurbished and people were consulted on the décor of their home. We received mixed feedback on the food. Checks were completed to help ensure prospective staff were suitable to work with people who may be vulnerable.
People were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff supported them in the least restrictive way possible and in their best interests; the policies and systems in the service supported this practice. People’s dignity was not consistently upheld. Language used by some staff did not promote people’s dignity and individuality. However, observations showed people were happy and relaxed in the company of staff.
People's individual needs were assessed, and most care records reflected people's preferences and wishes. People’s communication needs were considered and documented to ensure staff could meet people's individual needs and preferences. There was a complaints process and procedure which people and relatives were aware of.
The management team had auditing systems to maintain ongoing oversight of the service and make improvements where necessary. People received support with their healthcare and nutritional needs. The provider understood their responsibilities to keep CQC informed of events which may affect people and the care delivery.
For more details, please see the full report which is on the CQC website at www.cqc.org.uk
Rating at last inspection
This service was registered with us on 19/07/2021 and this is the first inspection.
The last rating for the service under the previous provider was good, published on 29/03/2018.
Why we inspected
This was a planned inspection based on the service being newly registered and in part to concerns about medicines, staffing and governance. A decision was made for us to inspect and examine those risks.
We looked at infection prevention and control measures under the Safe key question. We look at this in all care home inspections even if no concerns or risks have been identified. This is to provide assurance that the service can respond to COVID-19 and other infection outbreaks effectively.
You can see what action we have asked the provider to take at the end of this full report.
The provider had taken action to lessen the risks identified and provide additional oversight to the service.
We have found evidence that the provider needs to make improvement. Please see the safe and effective sections of this full report.
You can read the report from our last comprehensive inspection, by selecting the ‘all reports’ link for Marsh House on our website at www.cqc.org.uk.
Follow up
We will request an action plan for the provider to understand what they will do to improve the standards of quality and safety. We will work alongside the provider and local authority to monitor progress. We will return to visit as per our re-inspection programme. If we receive any concerning information we may inspect sooner.