Background to this inspection
Updated
14 May 2019
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. This inspection was planned to check whether the provider was meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Act, to look at the overall quality of the service, and to provide a rating for the service under the Care Act 2014.
Inspection team:
The inspection was carried out by two inspectors and two experts by experience [ExE] with experience in dementia care and older people who use regulated services. An expert by experience is a person who has personal experience of using or caring for someone who uses this type of care service.
Service and service type:
Heather View is a nursing home. People in care homes receive accommodation and nursing or personal care. 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 inspection was unannounced
What we did:
We reviewed information we had received about the service. This included details about incidents the provider must notify us about and we sought feedback from health professionals who worked with the service. We used information the provider sent us in the Provider Information Return [PIR]. This is information we require providers to send us at least once annually to give some key information about the service, what the service does well and improvements they plan to make.
Before, during and following the inspection we reviewed and spoke with;
• Notifications we received from the service.
• Care records and risk assessments of 21 people.
• Records of accidents, incidents and complaints
• Sought feedback from visiting professionals.
• Audits and quality assurance reports
• Spoke with 19 people using the service; and 11 relatives; and 9 staff.
• Observed several group activities and meal time experiences.
• Spoke with the Registered Manager and the Clinical Lead for Heather View
• Spoke with the Operations support Manager for Care UK.
• Medicines administrations records [MARs] of six people.
Updated
14 May 2019
About the service.
Heather View is a residential care home that provides personal and nursing care for up to 74 people. At the time of inspection, 62 people were living at the service. People were aged 65 and over and lived with a range of health and physical health needs including degenerative conditions and dementia.
The building is purpose built over four floors. The reception was on the ground floor and there was a floor for each of the three specialist support units. These are older persons, nursing care and people living with dementia.
People’s experience of using this service:
¿People and their relatives spoke positively about staff and the care they received. People were treated with dignity and compassion by a kind, caring staff and management team who understood people's individual needs, choices and preferences well. One relative said, “Everything is spot on, I couldn’t wish for the care to be better, (name) is happy here and we are delighted with the consistent and high quality of care (name) has received over the years”.
¿The service was homely and welcoming, and people told us that they felt safe. They said that there were enough staff to look after them and they were listened to and treated with kindness. Staff were trained and understood how to report safeguarding or other concern’s they may have.
¿People were involved in decisions about their care and staff sought appropriate consent and asked people what help they needed. People received care that respected their privacy and dignity as well as promoting their independence whenever possible.
¿Training, supervision and observations of staff practice by managers, ensured that staff were competent in their roles.
¿People received their medicines safely including; medicines that were prescribed on an ‘as and when required’ basis.
¿The provider had systems of quality assurance to measure and monitor the standard of the service and drive improvement. These systems also supported people to stay safe by assessing and mitigating risk and ensuring that people’s care was personalised and met their needs.
¿People told us that the meals were very good and there was plenty to eat and drink. The service employed a chef and meals were freshly prepared and cooked. People who had dietary needs such as allergies or required specialist diets were catered for. One relative said, “we bring in a fish and chip supper once a week and eat in the café downstairs which is really nice”.
¿The service was led by a dedicated management team who demonstrated compassion and commitment to the needs of the people who used the service, and the staff who worked for them. The management team worked professionally with other agencies outside of the service and ensured a transparent, honest and open approach to their work.
¿People had access to meaning full occupation and stimulation and there was a varied programme of activities. People told us there was plenty to do, their comments included “sometimes someone comes in with a guitar, the pop violinist gets everybody dancing and I like it when the pets come in”, and “On a Wednesday the toddler group runs in the café, I really enjoy joining the mums and children”. A relative told us “(Name) joins in all the activities; animals come in including chickens, a Shetland pony, a goat, sheep and dogs. There is a choir, exercise class and a church comes in regularly”.
Rating at last inspection:
Good. (Published 21 September 2016)
Why we inspected:
We inspected the service as part of our inspection methodology for ‘Good’ rated services.
For more details, please see the full report which is on the CQC website at www.cqc.org.uk