Venn House

Updated 12 February 2022

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 how services manage infection control and visiting arrangements. This was a targeted inspection looking at the infection prevention and control measures the provider had in place. We also asked the provider about any staffing pressures the service was experiencing and whether this was having an impact on the service.

This inspection took place on 1 February 2022 and was announced. We gave the service three hours’ notice of the inspection.

Updated 12 February 2022

About the service

Venn House is a residential care home in Lamerton, Tavistock. The service can accommodate a maximum of 25 older people across two buildings, the main house and the Coach House.

At the time of the inspection the provider was only using the Coach House which was able to accommodate a maximum of 18 people,16 people were living at the Coach House. Some people were living with dementia. Nursing care was provided by the local community nursing teams.

People’s experience of using this service and what we found

People, relative and professionals told us the service had improved.

People received person-centred care which was responsive to their specific needs and wishes. Each person had an up to date, personalised electronic care plan, which set out how their care and support needs should be met by staff.

Assessments were regularly undertaken to review people's needs and any changes in the support they required. Any needs in relation to the Equality Act 2010 were specified in care plans and if required, assessments detailed any support people required in relation to the Accessible Information Standard (AIS). The Accessible Information Standard aims to make sure that people who have a sensory loss, disability or impairment get information they can access and understand.

People had access to a wide range of group and individual activities and events they could choose to participate in, for example, music and dancing and art and crafts.

When people were nearing the end of their life, they received compassionate and supportive care by trained staff. People's end of life wishes were sensitively discussed with people and their families.

Staff were aware of people's communication methods and provided them with any support they required to communicate. This helped ensure their wishes were identified and they were enabled to make informed decisions and choices about the care and support they received.

The service had appropriate arrangements in place for dealing with people's complaints if they were unhappy with any aspect of the support provided at the home. People and their relatives said they were confident any concerns they might have about the service would be appropriately dealt with by the registered manager and provider.

People were kept safe at the home and were cared for by staff that were appropriately recruited and knew how to highlight any potential safeguarding concerns. Risks to people were clearly identified, and ongoing action taken to ensure that risks were managed well. The provider and registered manager ensured that incidents and accidents were recorded and fully investigated. The home was well kept and hygienic.

Staff were well supported through training, supervision and appraisal. Staff worked effectively together to ensure people's needs were communicated and supported them to access healthcare professionals when they needed them. Professional feedback was positive.

People’s medicines were safely managed. Staff knew how people liked to take their medicines and we observed thorough checks were in place to ensure people had received their medicines.

People enjoyed the meals available to them, were involved in menu planning and were appropriately supported with eating and drinking where required. 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.

The home was dementia friendly and met the needs of the people living there. Staff held “Champion” roles and kept up to date with best practice. They were a resource to the staff team. Staff could demonstrate how well they knew people.

People and their relatives were very positive about the care provided. They were listened to and involved. People were treated with privacy and dignity and supported to be as independent as possible whilst any differences or cultural needs were known and respected.

The service had a management structure in place, and quality assurance systems were effective in continuing to drive improvements across the home. Feedback about the leadership at the service was very good. The provider and registered manager knew people well. Regular feedback was sought from people and their relatives to ensure they were involved in the development of the service.

The last comprehensive inspection of this service was Requires Improvement (published July 2018). There were no breaches of regulation.

At this inspection we found improvements had continued to be made across the service and quality assurance systems embedded.

You can read the report from our last comprehensive inspection, by selecting the ‘all reports’ link for Venn House on our website at www.cqc.org.uk

Why we inspected

This was a planned inspection based on the previous rating. The service was now Good.

Follow up:

We will continue to monitor the service to ensure that people receive safe, compassionate, high quality care. We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service until we return to visit as per our re-inspection programme. If we receive any concerning information we may inspect sooner.

For more details, please see the full report which is on the CQC website at www.cqc.org.uk