Background to this inspection
Updated
28 April 2021
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.
As part of this inspection we looked at the infection control and prevention measures in place. This was conducted so we can understand the preparedness of the service in preventing or managing an infection outbreak, and to identify good practice we can share with other services.
Inspection team
This inspection was carried out by two inspectors.
Service and service type
Ann Marie Howes Centre is a ‘care home’. People in care homes receive accommodation and nursing or personal care as a 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
This inspection was unannounced.
What we did before the inspection
We reviewed information we had received about the service since the last inspection. We sought feedback from the local authority and professionals who work with the service. We reviewed information received by Healthwatch. Healthwatch is an independent consumer champion that gathers and represents the views of the public about health and social care services in England. The provider was not asked to complete a provider information return prior to this inspection. This is information we require providers to send us to give some key information about the service, what the service does well and improvements they plan to make. We took this into account when we inspected the service and made the judgements in this report. We used all of this information to plan our inspection.
During the inspection
We spoke with three people who used the service and three relatives about their experience of the care provided. We spoke with nine members of staff including the interim manager (referred to as “the manager” throughout the report), the deputy manager care workers and the chef. We also spoke to a visiting health professional.
We reviewed a range of records. This included eight people’s care records and multiple medication records. We looked at a range of records in relation to recruitment and staff supervision. A variety of records relating to the management of the service, including policies and procedures were also reviewed.
Updated
28 April 2021
About the service
Ann Marie Howes Centre is a purpose-built care home registered to accommodate and deliver personal care to a maximum number of 32 people. At the time of this inspection there were 20 people living at the Ann Marie Howe Centre, receiving personal care, who were over 65 years of age and living with dementia and/or physical disability.
People’s experience of using this service and what we found
Staff had received training in safeguarding and knew how to keep people safe. There were recruitment processes in place and recruitment checks were carried out before staff were appointed.
Medication was administered safely and staff supported people following good infection control practices.
People were supported by kind and caring staff who knew people well.
The new manager was implementing changes to improve the quality of the service and had carried out audits to monitor the quality and safety of the service. Surveys were completed to gather information about people’s views. Spot checks were carried out to ensure the quality of the service was maintained.
Rating at last inspection (and update)
The last rating for this service was requires improvement (published 29 July 2020) and there were two breaches of regulation. 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 improvements had been made and the provider was no longer in breach of regulations
Why we inspected
The inspection was prompted in part by notification of a specific incident whereby the person using the service made allegations of sexual abuse. This incident is subject to a criminal investigation. As a result, this inspection did not examine the circumstances of the incident. There were further allegations of poor care. A decision was made for us to inspect and examine those risks and we undertook a focused inspection to review the key questions of safe, and well-led only.
We reviewed the information we held about the service. No areas of concern were identified in the other key questions. We therefore did not plan to inspect them. However, during the inspection, following positive feedback we received about the service, we decided to inspect the key questions of caring and responsive. Ratings from previous comprehensive inspections for those key questions not inspected were used in calculating the overall rating at this inspection.
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.
The overall rating for the service has changed. The service has improved from requires improvement to 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 Ann Marie Howes Centre 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.