4 September 2020
During an inspection looking at part of 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.