Brideoake Care Home

Updated 6 October 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

The inspection was carried out by one inspector.

Service and service type

Brideoake Care Home 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 announced. We gave the service 48 hours’ notice of the inspection. This was because it is a small service and we needed to be sure that the provider or registered manager would be in the home to support the inspection.

Inspection activity started on 02 September 2021 and ended on 20 September 2021.

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 used the information the provider sent us in the provider information return. This is information providers are required to send us with key information about their service, what they do well, and improvements they plan to make. This information helps support our inspections. 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 nominated individual, the registered manager, the trainee deputy manager, senior care workers, care workers, domestic workers and the chef. The nominated individual is responsible for supervising the management of the service on behalf of the provider. We made observations relating to the provision of care to help us understand the experience of people who could not talk to us.

We reviewed a range of records. This included four people’s care plans and multiple medication records. We looked at four staff files in relation to recruitment and staff supervision. A variety of record relating to the management of the service, including policies and audits. We also reviewed records relating to the safe provision of care.

After the inspection

We continued to seek clarification from the provider to validate evidence and understand actions they would take around areas needing further development. We sought further feedback from professionals who work with the service.

Updated 6 October 2021

About the service

Brideoake Care Home is a residential care home registered to provide personal care and support with daily living tasks to 20 people aged 65 and over. At the time of inspection 20 people were receiving support across the two floors of the home.

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

People were kept safe from risk and harm and staff had a good understanding of safeguarding processes. Infection control practice was robust and staff wore PPE appropriately. Risks in relation to the provision of care, environment and wellbeing of people had been completed; however, we have made a recommendation for further detail to be added. Dependency assessments had been regularly carried out to ensure staffing levels were sufficient. Some staff had not completed important training and there were significant gaps in training records. The provider informed us following the inspection of their plan to bring staff up to date with their training by October 2021. We have made a recommendation that training is brought up to date in the stated time scale.

The provider had robust auditing systems in place; however, we have made a recommendation audits are developed to evidence ongoing improvement. People, relatives and staff reported feeling confident in raising concerns with the management team. Relatives told us they were involved in people’s care planning and were kept up to date with any changes. Staff reported they felt well supported by the management team and they received regular supervisions, with the flexibility to choose how often this occurred.

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 Good (published 25 May 2019).

Why we inspected

We received concerns in relation to infection control practice and good governance. As a result, 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 inspect them. Ratings from previous comprehensive inspections for those key questions 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 not changed and remains good. This is based on the findings at this inspection. We found no evidence during this inspection that people were at risk of harm from this concern. Please see the safe and well-led sections of this full report.

You can read the report from our last comprehensive inspection, by selecting the ‘all reports’ link for Brideoake Care Home 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.