7 March 2023
During an inspection looking at part of the service
Stanford House is a residential care home providing personal care and accommodation to up to 10 older people. At the time of our inspection there were 6 people using the service.
People’s experience of using this service and what we found
People were not always protected from risks in the environment, such as secured windows or the storage of chemicals. Medicines were not always stored safely, but people received their medicines as prescribed. People’s individual risks were not always regularly reviewed and documented. However, people felt safe at Stanford House and were satisfied with the support they received.
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.
Quality assurance systems were not always effective. Audits monitoring the quality of the service did not highlight the issues identified by our inspection. However, people and relatives felt the service provided a homely, family atmosphere which achieved good outcomes for people.
For more details, please see the full report which is on the CQC website at www.cqc.org.uk
Rating at last inspection and update
The last rating for this service was requires improvement (published 23 December 2021) and there was a breach of regulation. The provider was asked to complete an action plan after the last inspection to show what they would do and by when to improve. At this inspection we found improvements had not been made and the provider remained in breach of regulations.
Why we inspected
This inspection was carried out to follow up on action we told the provider to take at the last inspection. We carried out an unannounced focused inspection of this service on 21 October 2021. A breach of legal requirements was found. The provider was asked to complete an action plan after the last inspection to show what they would do and by when to improve the governance systems at the service.
We undertook this focused inspection to check what actions had been taken and to confirm they now met legal requirements. This report only covers our findings in relation to the Key Questions Safe and Well-led which contain those requirements.
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 read the report from our last comprehensive inspection, by selecting the ‘all reports’ link for Stanford House on our website at www.cqc.org.uk.
Enforcement
We have identified breaches in relation to how people’s safety was managed and how the service was run at this inspection.
Full information about CQC’s regulatory response to the more serious concerns found during inspections is added to reports after any representations and appeals have been concluded.
Follow up
We will meet with the provider following this report being published to discuss how they will make changes to ensure they improve their rating to at least good. We will work with the local authority to monitor progress. We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service, which will help inform when we next inspect.