1 September 2022
During an inspection looking at part of the service
Norwood Green is a care home with nursing for up to 92 older people. At the time of our inspection 76 people were living at the service. Some people were living with the experience of dementia and some were being cared for at the end of their lives. The service is managed by Four Seasons Healthcare, a private organisation proving care in residential care homes across England and Scotland.
People’s experience of using this service and what we found
The risks of people falling had not always been fully assessed or mitigated.
People did not always have opportunities for meaningful and engaging activities.
The provider's systems for monitoring and improving the quality of the service were implemented. But sometimes these were not effective enough to enable the required changes and improvements.
People received care and support which met their health and personal care needs. The staff worked closely with other healthcare professionals to make sure needs were assessed and planned for. People had enough to eat and drink.
People received their medicines safely and as prescribed.
There were enough staff to keep people safe and meet their needs. The staff received the training and support they required to understand how to care for people safely and well.
People were cared for by kind staff who understood people's differences and respected these. They supported people to make choices and people told us they liked the staff and had good relationships with them.
There were systems designed to safeguard people from abuse. The provider investigated and learnt from complaints, allegations of abuse, accidents and incidents. They shared learning with the staff to help improve the service.
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.
For more details, please see the full report which is on the CQC website at www.cqc.org.uk
Rating at last inspection and update
The last rating for this service was requires improvement (published 2 December 2021). The service remains rated requires improvement. This service has been rated requires improvement for the last four consecutive inspections.
The provider completed an action plan after the last inspection to show what they would do and by when to improve.
At this inspection we found some improvements had been made, but the provider remained in breach of regulations.
Why we inspected
This inspection was prompted by a review of the information we held about this service.
We carried out an unannounced comprehensive inspection of this service on 9 August 2021. Breaches of legal requirements were found. The provider completed an action plan after the last inspection to show what they would do and by when to improve person-centred care and good governance.
We undertook this focused inspection to check they had followed their action plan and to confirm they now met legal requirements. This report only covers our findings in relation to the Key Questions Safe, Effective, Responsive and Well-led.
For those key questions not inspected, we used the ratings awarded at the last inspection to calculate the overall rating. The overall rating for the service has not changed and remains requires improvement. This is based on the findings at this inspection. You can see what action we have asked the provider to take at the end of this full report.
We looked at infection prevention and control measures under the Safe key question. We look at this in all care home inspections even if no concerns or risks have been identified. This is to provide assurance that the service can respond to COVID-19 and other infection outbreaks effectively.
You can read the report from our last comprehensive inspection, by selecting the ‘all reports’ link for Norwood Green Care Home on our website at www.cqc.org.uk.
Enforcement and Recommendations
We are mindful of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on our regulatory function. This meant we took account of the exceptional circumstances arising as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic when considering what enforcement action was necessary and proportionate to keep people safe as a result of this inspection. We will continue to monitor the service and will take further action if needed.
We have identified breaches in relation to safe care and treatment, person-centred care and good governance at this inspection.
Please see the action we have told the provider to take at the end of this report.
Follow up
We will request an action plan from the provider to understand what they will do to improve the standards of quality and safety. We will work alongside the provider and local authority to monitor progress. We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service, which will help inform when we next inspect.