Polebank Hall Residential Care Home

Updated 25 June 2021

We carried out this inspection under Section 60 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 as part of our regulatory functions. This inspection was planned to check whether the provider is meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Health and Social Care Act 2008.

As part of CQC’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic we are looking at the preparedness of care homes in relation to infection prevention and control. This was a targeted inspection looking at the infection control and prevention measures the provider has in place.

This inspection took place on 10 June 2021 and was announced.

Updated 25 June 2021

This unannounced inspection took place on 11 December 2017.

Polebank Hall Residential Care home is registered to provide accommodation and care for up to 29 people. The home provides a service to older people living with varying degrees of dementia or memory loss. The home is situated in the Gee Cross area of Hyde, Manchester and is set in 16 acres of parkland.

At the time of the inspection the home was at full occupancy.

Polebank Hall Residential Home is a ‘care home’. People in care homes receive accommodation and nursing or personal care as a single package under one contractual agreement. CQC regulates both the premises and the care provided, and both were looked at during this inspection.

At our last inspection of Polebank Hall Residential Care Home in May 2016, the home was rated as Requires Improvement overall and for the key questions Safe and Well-led. A breach of regulation 12 with regards to safe care and treatment was identified. This was because we found concerns in relation to medication and infection control practices. This inspection looked at the progress made since our last visit, to ensure the requirements of the regulations were now being met.

There was a registered manager in post. 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 2008 and associated Regulations about how the service is run.

People who used the service and their relatives told us they felt the service was safe, as did visiting healthcare professionals that we spoke with. There were appropriate risk assessments in place with guidance on how to minimise risk. Staff recruitment was robust with appropriate checks undertaken before staff started working at the home.

Everybody we spoke with told us there were sufficient numbers of staff working at the home. There was a dependency tool used and this determined how many staff were required to care for people safely.

We found staff received sufficient training, supervision, appraisal and induction to support them in their role. The staff we spoke with told us they were happy with the training they received and felt supported to undertake their work.

Whilst several people living at the home had Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS) in place, the registered manager told us that several other applications still needed to be made. The registered manager told us shortly after the inspection that these had now been submitted to the local authority for review. We have also made a recommendation about using formal mental capacity assessments, when determining people’s ability to make their own choices and decisions about their care and treatment.

The people we spoke with said the food served at the home was of a good quality and we saw people being supported to eat by staff at meal times. People were weighed on a regular basis and more frequently if they were identified as being at risk of losing weight.

We found the home works closely with other health professionals and made appropriate referrals if there were concerns. Details of any visits from other professionals were recorded within people’s care plans.

We received positive feedback from people we spoke with about the care provided at the home. Visiting relatives and healthcare professionals also said they had no concerns with the care being delivered at the home. People said they felt they were treated with dignity and we observed staff treating people with respect during the inspection.

Each person living at the home had their own care plan in place which provided an overview of their care requirements and any associated risks. People’s life histories were documented which provided details about their life prior to living at the home.

There were a range of different activities available for people to participate in. The home also had a dedicated activities room which we were told was well used. During the inspection, we observed people enjoying singing Christmas songs, as a local choir group had been to the home so that people could join in.

We found complaints were responded to appropriately. A policy and procedure was in place and was displayed near the main entrance for people to refer to.

There were systems in place to monitor the quality of service being provided to ensure good governance, with a range of audits being undertaken by the registered manager.

Staff meetings took place on a regular basis, giving staff the opportunity to discuss their work and raise any concerns about practices within the home. We also observed a handover taking place where the team leader provided an update on people’s care needs.

Staff spoke positively about management at the home and said the manager was supportive and approachable. Staff said the manager had made changes for the better since starting work at the home.

Policies and procedures were in place and were being reviewed regularly.