White Farm Lodge is a care home providing personal and nursing care for up to 60 people with dementia. At the time of the inspection 50 people were receiving a service at the home.We found the following examples of good practice.
There were robust and effective measures to prevent and minimise the risk to people, staff and those that visited from catching or spreading COVID-19.
We observed, staff and managers wearing personal protective equipment (PPE) appropriately. Staff were provided with up to date infection prevention and control (IPC) and COVID-19 training, that was frequently refreshed. Adequate supplies of PPE were available that met current demand and foreseeable outbreaks.
Staff followed IPC and PPE regularly updated policies and procedures, that reflected ongoing changes to COVID-19 related guidance. These included contingency plans for managing adverse events, such as COVID-19 outbreaks and staff shortages. The registered manager carried out walkabout tours of the care home to make sure staff were using PPE properly and following guidance.
Although access to the care home was restricted, due to an outbreak, designated people such as essential care givers and relatives and friends of those approaching end of life could visit in line with Government COVID-19 care home guidelines. All visitors to the care home were required to follow the home’s IPC guidance.
Alternative communication arrangements were in place so that people could maintain relationships with relatives and friends. Staff actively supported people to keep in touch with those who could not visit the care home by telephone and using teams and zoom calls.
The care home could not currently accept new referrals or people returning home due to a Covid-19 outbreak. Under normal circumstances new admissions or people returning after a hospital stay were required to have a negative COVID-19 test and self-isolate for a minimum 10 days to reduce the risk of the virus spreading.
The care home followed a ‘whole home’ COVID-19 testing program. This ensured people living, working or visiting the care home were regularly tested for COVID-19. The provider knew how to order COVID-19 home testing kits and where to get them.
The care home was clean, hygienic, and detailed records were kept of staff cleaning schedules. This included continuously cleaning high touch surfaces, such as light switches, grab rails and door handles as part of a rolling programme.
The care home carried out thorough infection risk assessments for everyone living, visiting and working there. If people were deemed to be disproportionately at risk from COVID-19, appropriate action was taken to reduce the impact. Staff with underlying health care conditions or other restricting factors, did not work on floors where people who had tested positive for COVID-19 had been or were self-isolating.
The provider had minimised the number of agency and bank staff they used to those that had previous experience of the home to reduce the risk of spreading infection.
The provider's IPC policy was up to date. The last update took place on 18 January 2022.