The inspection took place on 2 June 2015 and was unannounced. The last inspection of the service was on 22 September 2014 and there were no breaches of Regulation identified.
Clare House Nursing Home (Uxbridge) is a nursing home registered to provide accommodation, personal and nursing care for up to 43 older people. At the time of our inspection there were 35 people living at the home. The home was divided into two units and people were cared for by qualified nurses and care assistants. Some people had complex nursing needs. The home is managed by Bupa Care Homes (BNH) Limited (BUPA), a national provider of care and nursing homes.
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 and associated Regulations about how the service is run.
The provider had systems to make sure people were involved in planning and consenting to their own care.
Medicines were appropriately managed although we noted some areas where improvements were necessary. The provider responded to these and put in place the necessary arrangements to ensure safe management of medicines.
There were enough staff employed at the service and the recruitment of these staff included checks on their suitability.
The staff assessed the risks for each person and took action to minimise these.
The Care Quality Commission (CQC) is required by law to monitor the operation of the Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLs). DoLS provides a process to make sure that providers only deprive people of their liberty in a safe and correct way, when it is in their best interests and there is no other way to look after them. The provider was aware of their responsibilities and had acted in accordance with the legal requirements.
The staff were appropriately supported and trained so that they could meet people’s needs safely.
People’s nutritional needs were met and they were offered a variety of freshly prepared food. They were able to make choices about the food they ate.
The staff worked with other healthcare professionals to assess, plan for, monitor and meet people’s individual healthcare needs.
People had positive relationships with the staff. They felt the staff were kind, caring and attentive. They were supported to make choices and felt well informed.
People’s privacy and dignity was respected.
People’s individual needs were assessed, planned for and met in a personalised way. The staff were aware of people’s individual preferences, likes and dislikes.
People’s recreational and social needs were met. There was a programme of planned activities and people were supported to pursue individual hobbies and interests.
There was an appropriate complaints procedure and complaints were investigated and acted upon.
People living at the home and the staff felt there was a positive and open culture. They were able to approach the manager and felt listened to and supported.
The manager was experienced and worked alongside the staff.
There were comprehensive systems for monitoring the quality of the service. Concerns and risks were identified and acted upon.