Brambles Care Home

Updated 24 December 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. 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 completed by one inspector.

Service and service type:

Brambles 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 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 took place on the 26 November 2019 and was unannounced.

What we did:

We reviewed information we held about the service in the form of statutory notifications received from the service and any safeguarding or whistleblowing incidents, which may have occurred. A statutory notification is information about important events, which the registered provider is required to send us by law.

We used the Short Observational Framework for Inspection [SOFI]. SOFI is a way of observing care to help us understand the experience of people who could not talk with us.

We spoke with four people who used the service and two relatives about their experience of the care provided. We spoke with four members of staff, the service’s chef and the registered manager. We reviewed five people’s care files and six staff personnel files. We also looked at a sample of the service’s quality assurance systems, the registered provider’s arrangements for managing medication, staff training and supervision records, complaint and compliment records.

Updated 24 December 2019

About the service

Brambles Care Home is a residential care home providing personal and nursing care for up to 29 people aged 65 and over. This also includes people living with dementia. At the time of the inspection there were 26 people living at the service.

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

People told us they were safe. Suitable arrangements were in place to protect people from abuse and avoidable harm. Staff understood how to raise concerns and knew what to do to safeguard people. Risks to people’s safety and wellbeing were assessed, recorded and followed by staff. Suitable arrangements were in place to ensure people received their medication as they should. Enough numbers of staff were available to support people living at Brambles Care Home and to meet their needs. Recruitment practices and procedures were safe. People were protected by the prevention and control of infection. Findings from this inspection showed lessons were learned and improvements made when things went wrong.

Suitable arrangements were in place to ensure staff were appropriately trained and newly appointed staff received an induction. Staff felt valued and supported by the registered manager and received formal supervision and an annual appraisal. The dining experience for people using the service was good. People received enough food and drink to meet their needs. People were supported to access healthcare services and receive ongoing healthcare support. The service worked with other organisations to enable people to receive effective care and support. 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. Since our last inspection to the service, many areas of the home environment had been refurbished and redecorated.

People and those acting on their behalf told us they were treated with care, kindness, respect and dignity. Staff had a good rapport and relationship with the people they supported, and observations demonstrated what people told us.

People’s care and support needs were documented, and staff had a good understanding and knowledge of these and the care to be delivered. Information relating to people’s end of life care needs was recorded and included peoples and those acting on their behalf preferences and wishes. Suitable arrangements were in place to enable people to participate in meaningful social activities to meet their needs. Complaints were well managed and a record of compliments to capture the service’s achievements was maintained.

People told us the service was well-led and managed. Quality assurance arrangements enabled the provider and registered manager to monitor the quality of the service provided and staff performance.

Rating at last inspection

The rating at last inspection was good (published May 2017).

Why we inspected

This was a planned inspection based on the previous rating.

Follow up:

We will continue to monitor intelligence we receive about the service until we return to visit as outlined in our inspection programme and schedule. If any concerning information is received we may inspect sooner.

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