Dearne Valley Care Centre

Updated 27 January 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 care homes with outbreaks of COVID-19, we are conducting reviews to ensure that the Infection Prevention and Control (IPC) practice is safe and that services are compliant with IPC measures. This was a targeted inspection looking at the IPC practices the provider has 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 13 January 2022 and was announced. We gave the service 24 hours notice of the inspection.

Updated 27 January 2022

About the service

Dearne Valley Care Centre is a residential care home providing personal and nursing care for 26 people at the time of the inspection, some of whom were living with dementia. Accommodation was provided in a purpose-built home across two floors, with communal areas on each floor.

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

People were pleased with the quality of care and support they experienced. They told us they felt safe when care workers were providing support to them. One person told us, “I feel safe because there is always staff around."

Staff understood what it meant to protect people from abuse. They told us they were confident any concerns they raised would be taken seriously by the registered manager. Safe procedures were in place to make sure people received their medicines as prescribed.

There were enough staff available to make sure people’s care and support needs were met. The provider had effective recruitment procedures in place to make sure staff had the required skills and were of suitable character and background.

Staff received training which supported them to have the knowledge and skills to do their job well and effectively meet people’s needs.

Staff understood the requirements of the Mental Capacity Act 2005. 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.

People were supported to access relevant health and social care professionals to ensure they were getting the care and support they needed to best meet their needs.

Positive and supportive relationships had been developed between people and staff. People were treated with dignity and respect. Staff were committed to promoting people’s independence. People were supported to maintain a balanced diet.

People’s care and support was planned and delivered in a way that ensured it met their needs and reflected their preferences. The care records we looked at included risk assessments. They had been devised to help minimise and monitor the risks, while promoting the person’s independence as far as possible.

People knew how to complain and were confident the registered manager or other staff would resolve their complaint.

People who used the service, relatives and staff could express their views about the service which were acted upon. The management team provided leadership that gained the respect of staff and motivated them as a team.

There were systems in place to monitor the quality of the service and make improvements when needed. These included audits staff training supervision and appraisal, environmental audits and audits of pressure cushions, slings hoists and bed rails. All show actions that had been taken in response to completing audits.

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

Rating at last inspection:

The last rating for this service was Good (published 18 April 2017).

Why we inspected

This was a planned inspection based on the previous rating.

Follow up

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.