Background to this inspection
Updated
22 October 2020
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 an inspector and an assistant inspector.
Service and service type
Eachstep Blackburn 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.
According to our records, the service had a manager registered with the Care Quality Commission (CQC). 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. However, we were informed that theirs had been an interim management role for the provider and they had left the home three weeks earlier when a permanent manager was appointed. The new manager had applied to register with CQC and we were informed the previous manager would be applying to deregister.
Notice of inspection
We gave 24 hours' notice of the inspection due to restrictions in place during the COVID pandemic.
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 the local Healthwatch team. Healthwatch is an independent consumer champion that gathers and represents the views of the public about health and social care services in England. We also reviewed information from statutory notifications sent to us by the service about incidents and events that had occurred at the home. A notification is information about important events, which the service is required to send us by law.
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
Due to restrictions the provider had in place to protect people from the risk of infection during the pandemic, we were only able to visit one of the three households in the home. On this unit, we observed how staff provided support to people to help us better understand their experiences of the care they received. During the inspection visit, we spoke with six people living in the home, the manager and the deputy manager. We also looked at a range of documents and written records including six people's care and medication records, staff training records and records relating to the management of the service, including audits and policies and procedures in relation to the Covid 19 pandemic.
After the inspection
We spoke by telephone with five relatives and six members of staff. We looked at records sent to us before and after the inspection. We continued to seek clarification from the provider to validate evidence seen.
Updated
22 October 2020
About the service
Eachstep Blackburn is a residential care home providing personal and nursing care to 52 people at the time of the inspection. The service specialises in providing care to people living with dementia and can accommodate up to 64 people. The home is divided into three households, each of which is decorated to a high standard and provides themed areas to promote social interaction. Accommodation is provided in single en-suite bedrooms. The home also provides a cinema, vintage tearoom and secure garden area.
People’s experience of using this service and what we found
People continued to receive exceptional quality care which was personalised to meet their individual needs and preferences. Staff spoke about people with respect and demonstrated a commitment to enabling them to live their lives as independently as possible.
People were supported by staff who were extremely kind and caring. Staff spoke about the home as being a family where people were cared for in a loving and happy environment. Our discussions with relatives supported this view. The home was described as a “Rolls Royce service” and staff as “caring, kind and respectful.”
People told us they felt safe in Eachstep Blackburn. Staff had received training in safeguarding adults and were confident about the action they needed to take to keep people safe. They told us policies and procedures were available on each household for them to refer to if necessary.
Staff had been safely recruited. Four out of the five people spoken with told us staff always responded promptly to their needs. One person told us they sometimes had to wait for staff; this was addressed immediately by the manager of the home.
The provider’s infection control policies had been updated to reflect the additional risks posed by the Covid 19 pandemic. Staff understood and followed the procedures. The home ensured extra vigilance when people were required to shield due to their health needs or were required to isolate following admission to the home or return from hospital.
Staff and relatives spoke positively about the way the home was led. They told us the new manager was approachable and willing to listen to any suggestions they had. People described the home as caring and like a family.
Rating at last inspection
The last rating for this service was outstanding (published 26 September 2018).
Why we inspected
The inspection was prompted in part due to concerns about the number of safeguarding alerts received by the local authority regarding people living in the home as well as standards of record keeping. As a result, we undertook a focused inspection to review the key questions of safe, caring and well-led only.
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 coronavirus and other infection outbreaks effectively.
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. The overall rating for the service has remained outstanding. This is based on the findings at this inspection.
For more details, please see the full report which is on the CQC 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.