Archived: Headroomgate Nursing Home

Updated 18 May 2015

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, to look at the overall quality of the service, and to provide a rating for the service under the Care Act 2014.

The inspection took place on the 17th March 2015 and was unannounced. The inspection team consisted of an adult social care inspector and an expert by experience. An expert-by-experience is a person who has personal experience of using or caring for someone who uses this type of care service. This expert had experience of caring for an older adult who lived with dementia.

Prior to our visit, we reviewed all the information we held about the service, including notifications the provider had sent us about important things that had happened, such as accidents. We also looked at information we had received from other sources, such as the local authority and people who used the service.

The provider sent us a provider information return (PIR). This is a form that asks the provider to give some key information about the service, what the service does well and improvements they plan to make.

We spoke with 14 people who used the service or their relatives or friends. We also had discussions with the provider, registered manager, deputy manager, four care workers and the cook. We contacted five community professionals as part of the inspection, including a district nurse and three social workers. We also contacted the local authority contracts team.

We closely examined the care records of three people who used the service. This process is called pathway tracking and enables us to judge how well the service understands and plans to meet people’s care needs and manage any risks to people’s health and wellbeing.

We reviewed a variety of records, including some policies and procedures, safety and quality audits, four staff personnel and training files, records of accidents, complaints records, various service certificates and medication administration records.

Updated 18 May 2015

Headroomgate Nursing Home provides accommodation for up to 19 people who have nursing or personal care needs. The home is situated close to St Annes town centre and is a large corner property with a garden and paved areas around the building. There are three floors, two of which have lift access, two lounges and dining areas. Some bedrooms have en-suite facilities.

The service was last inspected on 9th December 2014. This inspection was carried out to follow up on warning notices we issued in October 2014, due to serious concerns we identified about the service at that time. During the inspection we carried out in December 2014, we found significant improvements had been made. However we had some outstanding minor concerns and found the service was not fully compliant with regulations in relation to care and welfare and quality assurance. The registered manager sent us an action plan setting out the action she intended to take to address these requirements. During this inspection we found that appropriate action had been taken.

This inspection was unannounced and took place on the 17th March 2015. At the time of the inspection we were assisted by the provider and registered manager. 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.

The feedback we received from people who used the service, their relatives and community professionals was in general very positive. A number of people commented on how they felt the service had made great improvements over the last six months, particularly in relation to staffing levels, cleanliness and the general environment.

People we spoke with expressed satisfaction with the standard of care provided and the professionalism of the manager and staff. A community professional commented, “I have seen much improvement in recent months and I personally have much more confidence in the care provided at the home.”

People who used the service, or their relatives felt that care workers understood their needs and provided safe and effective care. People were particularly complimentary about how the service met their or their loved ones more complex needs and responded to any changes in their needs. People said they were able to make decisions about their care and were encouraged to express their views.

People’s rights were respected. Where concerns were identified about the capacity of a person who used the service to consent to any aspect of their care, the key requirements of the Mental Capacity Act 2005 were put into practice to ensure people’s best interests were protected.

People felt they were treated with kindness and respect by the staff team. People felt their privacy and dignity was respected and that they could express views about things that were important to them.

People were cared for by well trained and well supported staff. The registered manager ensured that all staff were supported to acquire the skills and knowledge necessary to carry out their roles effectively.

The provider and manager were described as supportive and approachable. People felt able to raise concerns and were confident any concerns they did raise would be dealt with properly.

There were processes in place to ensure that all aspects of the service were regularly checked and monitored, both by the manager and the provider of the service. This helped ensure that improvements would be maintained and that any further areas for development could be identified and addressed.