Michaelstowe

Updated 10 January 2020

The inspection

We carried out this inspection under Section 60 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (the Act) as part of our regulatory functions. We checked whether the provider was meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Act. We looked at the overall quality of the service and provided a rating for the service under the Care Act 2014.

Inspection team

One inspector undertook this inspection.

Service and service type

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

The service had a manager registered with the Care Quality Commission. This means that they and the provider are legally responsible for how the service is run and for the quality and safety of the care provided.

Notice of inspection

The first day of this inspection was unannounced.

What we did before inspection

We reviewed information we had received about the service since the last inspection and we used this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection

We met 14 people and spoke in detail with eight people. We spoke with four relatives and 11 members of staff, including the registered manager, senior care workers, care workers and the chef. We also spoke with a visiting healthcare professional.

We reviewed a range of records. This included three people’s care records and multiple medication records. We looked at two staff files in relation to recruitment and staff supervision. A variety of records relating to the management of the service were reviewed, including accidents reports, internal governance processes and health and safety audits.

Updated 10 January 2020

About the service:

Michaelstowe is a residential care home providing personal care for up to 24 older people living with dementia and/or a physical disability. 21 people were living there at the time of the inspection. Accommodation is provided over three floors and a passenger lift provides access to the upper floors. Michaelstowe is owned by South West Care Homes Ltd who own and manage eight other care homes in the South West.

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

People told us the home was well managed and they felt safe and well cared for. Relatives praised the home. Staff were seen to be kind, caring and friendly and it was clear staff knew people and their relatives well.

There were sufficient numbers of staff employed to ensure people’s needs were met. Staff had time to sit and engage people in conversation and to support people’s involvement in social activities. Recruitment practices were safe.

Risks to people’s health, safety and well-being were assessed and management plans were in place to ensure risks were mitigated as much as possible. Staff were aware of their responsibilities to safeguard people.

People received their medicines safely and as prescribed. Medicine management practices were safe.

Quality assurance processes ensured people received safe care that met their needs and respected their preferences. People and their relatives were involved in making decisions about their care.

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 10 January 2019).

Why we inspected: The inspection was prompted due to concerns over the provider’s governance of their services and whether we could be assured people were receiving safe care. As a result, we undertook a focused inspection to review the Key Questions of Safe and Well-led only.

We found the service was being managed well and there was no evidence that people were at risk from unsafe care.

We reviewed the information we held about the service. No areas of concern were identified in the other Key Questions. We therefore did not inspect them. Ratings from previous comprehensive inspections for those Key Questions were used in calculating the overall rating at this inspection.

The overall rating for the service has remained good. This is based on the findings at this inspection.

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

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.