Brant Howe Residential Home

Updated 25 September 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.

Inspection team

The inspection was carried out by two inspectors. One inspector visited the home over two days and the other contacted relatives by telephone.

Service and service type

Brant Howe Residential 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 CQC. This means 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. It occurred during the COVID-19 pandemic and we gave the service short notice of the inspection to ensure it was safe to visit.

What we did before the inspection

We looked at the information we held about the service. This information included statutory notifications the provider had sent to CQC. A notification is information about important events which the service is required to send us by law. We also contacted local authority commissioners and asked them for their views about the service.

The provider completed a provider information return prior to this inspection. 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.

During the inspection

We spent time in the communal areas observing how staff provided support for people to help us better understand their experiences of the care they received. We spoke with four people living in the home and one relative. We spoke to three more relatives by telephone after the inspection visit. We spoke with the registered manager, the deputy manager and five care staff. We also obtained feedback from three healthcare professionals who regularly visit the service.

We had a tour of the premises and looked at a range of documents and written records. These included five people's records related to their care and support, five staff recruitment records, staffing rotas, training, induction and supervision records, minutes from meetings and compliments records. We looked at maintenance and servicing certificates and records related to the auditing and monitoring of service. This also included fire safety records and reports.

After the inspection

We continued to seek clarification from the provider to validate evidence found.

Updated 25 September 2021

About the service

Brant Howe Residential Home is a residential care home providing personal care and support for up to 29 people, most of who were living with dementia. The service does not provide nursing care. At the time of the inspection, there were 26 people living in the home. The home is located in the town of Kirkby Lonsdale. Accommodation is provided over two floors.

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

People told us they felt safe and were happy with the service they received. They and their relatives said staff were kind and caring and they were treated well. At inspection, we noted good interactions between people and staff.

Staff understood how to protect people from abuse and recruitment processes ensured new staff were suitable to work with vulnerable people. There were enough staff to meet people's needs and to ensure their safety.

People received their medicines when they needed them from staff who had been trained and had their competency checked. We noted a potential issue around some medicines that were administered 'as required' and have made a recommendation about this in the 'Safe' section of the report.

Risk assessments enabled people to retain their independence and receive support with minimum risk to themselves or others. Infection control was well managed and the home was following the COVID-19 rules and guidelines. The home was clean, tidy and free from hazards. A programme of improvements concentrating on fire safety was underway at the time of the inspection.

People's care and support needs were assessed prior to them using the service to ensure their needs could be met. Where people's needs could not be met, the home worked well with others to ensure people were appropriately supported.

People were supported to live healthy lives and had access to health and social care professionals and a well-trained staff team. People also had a good choice of meals. Drinks were available at any time of day and night.

The home worked in partnership with other organisations to provide effective and consistent care. 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.

People were treated as individuals which helped protect their dignity. Their equality and diversity was respected by a caring staff team. Staff understood the importance of giving people their time and the importance of encouraging people to maintain their independence.

People's care was tailored to their needs, routines and preferences and staff knew people well. People had access to a range of organised activities. These included trips away from the home. Although COVID-19 rules had prevented full engagement with organisations and people in the community, we noted the registered manager and deputy were preparing to have more meaningful community contact consistent with relaxation of the rules.

Safe visiting processes were in place to ensure people could see their visitors when they wished and could maintain relationships that were important to them. People and relatives said they did not have any complaints about the service but were confident to raise any issues.

People were happy with the way the service was managed and staff felt valued and enjoyed working at the home. There were effective systems to assess and monitor the quality of the service and the practice of staff and appropriate action was taken when shortfalls were noted. People's views and opinions of the service were sought and acted on.

For more details, please see the full report which is on the CQC website at www.cqc.org.uk

Rating at last inspection

The last rating for this service was 'Good' (published 16 October 2018).

Why we inspected

This was a planned inspection to provide a rating under the Care Act 2014.

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 Brant Howe Residential 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.