Archived: Catherine House General Nursing Home

Updated 21 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.

This was a focused inspection to check whether the provider had met the requirements in relation to Safe care and treatment, and Good governance of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 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 and an expert by experience who telephoned relatives. 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

Catherine House General Nursing 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 did not have a manager registered with the Care Quality Commission. However, the manager was in the process of applying for registration.

Notice of inspection

We gave the service 24 hours’ notice of the inspection to be sure we could manage the risks related to Covid 19.

What we did before the inspection

We reviewed information we had received about the service since the last 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. We used all of this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection

Due to Covid 19 guidelines around inspecting we requested the documentation we required be provided for us at a safe location chosen within the service. We reviewed the care plans and risk assessments for three people, staff training and supervision records, Infection control and quality monitoring. During the visit we spoke with the manager, area director and deputy manager. We later spoke with three staff members over the telephone.

We spoke with three people who used the service and eight relatives about their experience of the care provided. 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.

After the inspection

We continued to seek clarification from the provider to validate evidence found. We looked at fire system checks and quality assurance records.

Updated 21 October 2020

About the service

Catherine House General Nursing Home is a residential care home providing personal and nursing care to 26 people aged 65 and over at the time of the inspection. The service can support up to 67 people however, the top floor is not in use.

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

People received care and support that was safe, however some relatives felt they could not comment due to not be able to visit during lockdown. One relative was concerned about people going into their loved one’s room. The provider had a robust recruitment programme and staff had received training in recognising abuse and safeguarding people. The management, administration and storage of medicines was safe.

People were protected by robust infection control policies and procedures. Staff had received training in infection control and the correct use of personal protective equipment [PPE].

There were enough staff to look after people safely and take time to sit and chat or join in an activity. A recent recruitment programme meant the service used less agency staff. This meant people experienced an improved level of consistency. Risk assessments were in place with guidance for staff about how to keep people safe.

People received responsive care and support which was personalised to their individual needs and wishes. There was clear guidance for staff on how to support people in line with their wishes. People’s end of life wishes were recorded, and the home worked with other healthcare professionals to ensure people were comfortable and pain free at the end of their life.

There was an improved activities programme in place which included meaningful activities for people living with dementia. Some relatives said the activities were good, and they had received photographs of things people had done. However, other relatives thought the meaningful activities for people living with dementia still needed some improvement.

Improvements had been made throughout the home, however relatives felt they had not been kept informed about the changes in managers and personnel, with one relative stating the arrival of a new manager was only “hearsay.”

Improvements in the service included effective systems to monitor the quality of the service, ensure staff kept up to date with good practice and to seek people’s views, however we need to see this can be sustained over time. Records showed the service responded to concerns and learnt from issues raised.

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 requires improvement (published 19 November 2019) and there were two breaches of regulation. At this inspection we found improvements had been made and the provider was no longer in breach of regulations.

Why we inspected

This was a focused inspection to follow up breaches.

We carried out an unannounced comprehensive inspection of this service on 8 and 9 October 2019. Two breaches of legal requirements were found. The provider completed an action plan after the last inspection to show what they would do and by when to improve the Safe Care and Treatment of people and Good Governance.

We undertook this focused inspection to check they had followed their action plan and to confirm they now met legal requirements. This report only covers our findings in relation to the Key Questions Safe, Responsive and Well-led which contained those requirements.

The ratings from the previous comprehensive inspection for those key questions not looked at on this occasion were used in calculating the overall rating at this inspection. The overall rating for the service has changed from Requires improvement to Good. This is based on the findings 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 coronavirus and other infection outbreaks effectively.

You can read the report from our last comprehensive inspection, by selecting the ‘all reports’ link for Catherine House General Nursing 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.