Gracelands Care Home

Gracelands Care Home is a residential care home providing personal care to up to 43 people, some of whom may be living with a dementia and/or physical disability in one adapted building. At the time of our inspection there were 33 people using the service.

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

People felt safe living at Garcelands Care Home and said they would recommend it as a great place to live.

Thorough recruitment processes were in place to ensure suitable staff were employed. Staffing levels were regularly reviewed to ensure they remained sufficient. Observations showed staff had time to meaningfully engage with people.

Medicines were managed safely and robust quality assurance process were in place to identify any issues in a timely way. Accidents and incidents were thoroughly recorded and overseen by the registered manager to ensure appropriate action had been taken to mitigate any risks.

The home was extremely clean and tidy throughout. Staff described Gracelands Care Home as a great place to work.

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, relatives and staff were regularly asked to provide feedback on the service provided. Their views were listened to and acted upon.

The provider and managers were passionate about continuous improvements and invested in their staff team to create an open, honest culture where staff felt valued. Robust governance systems were in place which were used to continuously develop and improve the service provided.

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 (report published 14 August 2018).

Why we inspected

This inspection was prompted by a review of the information we held about this service and the time since the last 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 COVID-19 and other infection outbreaks effectively.

We undertook this focused inspection to review the key questions of Safe and Well-led only. For those key questions not inspected, we used the ratings awarded at the last inspection to calculate the overall rating.

You can read the report from our last comprehensive inspection, by selecting the ‘all reports’ link for Gracelands Care Home on our website at www.cqc.org.uk.

Follow up

We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service, which will help inform when we next inspect.

We found the following examples of good practice.

• The home had detailed contingency plans in place to deal with future outbreaks.

• Bespoke training and competency checks had been developed for staff to ensure they were using personal protective equipment (PPE) correctly.

• There were sufficient stocks of PPE available for staff and visitors.

• Communal areas had been adapted to support social distancing.

• People had been supported to keep in touch with their relatives.

• Staff had worked flexibly through the recent outbreak to make sure the home was sufficiently staffed. Additional support had been provided to staff to support their well-being.

• There was good oversight of the home from the registered managers. They acted quickly when any improvements or changes were needed.

Further information is in the detailed findings below.

Gracelands 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 provides personal care to a maximum of 43 people, some of whom are living with a dementia and/or a physical disability. At the time of the inspection there were 32 people who used the service.

The service had a registered manager. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission to manage the service. Like registered providers, they are ‘registered persons.’ Registered persons have a legal responsibility for meeting the requirements in the Health and Social Care Act 2008 and associated Regulations about how the service is run.

Policies and procedures helped to ensure people were protected from the risk of abuse and avoidable harm. Staff had received safeguarding training, and were confident they knew how to recognise and report potential abuse. Staff were recruited carefully and appropriate checks had been completed to ensure they were safe to work with people.

Systems were in place to ensure people received their prescribed medicines safely. Staff had been trained in the safe administration of medicines. We did note the room in which medicines were stored was on occasions too hot. However, the registered manager was aware of this and had obtained some quotes for air conditioning and was awaiting a date for fitting.

Risks to people's safety and health were assessed, managed and reviewed. We did note that risk assessments were generic and did not identify individual measures to keep people safe. However, the registered manager was aware of this and was to review and update all risk assessments. People and relatives told us there were sufficient numbers of staff on duty to ensure people’s needs were met.

The registered manager had systems in place for reporting, recording, and monitoring significant events, incidents and accidents. The registered manager told us that lessons were learnt when they reviewed all accidents and incidents to determine any themes or trends.

The home was clean and tidy. Communal areas were well maintained. Appropriate personal protective equipment and hand washing facilities were available. Staff had completed infection control training.

People were supported by a regular team of staff who were knowledgeable about people’s likes, dislikes and preferences. A training plan was in place and staff were suitably trained and received all the support they needed to perform their roles.

People were supported to have a good diet which met their needs and preferences. People told us they liked the food that was provided. People were supported to access health professionals to maintain their health and wellbeing.

People were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff supported them in the least restrictive way possible; the policies and systems in the service supported this practice.

Staff understood people's different ways of communicating and how to make people feel valued. The home had a strong and person-centred culture. We received feedback from people, relatives and professionals which was very positive about the quality of life that people experienced. People told us the staff were kind and caring and treated them with dignity and respect. The service recognised the importance for people of maintaining close family relationships and provided the support required to make this happen.

People's care needs were met in a way they liked. Individual care plans included the appropriate information to help ensure care was provided in a person centred and safe way. Where people were supported at the end of their lives, this was done with dignity and kindness.

The service had a clear process for handling complaints. The registered manager was aware of the Accessible Information Standard that was introduced in 2016. The Accessible Information Standard is a law which aims to make sure people with a disability or sensory loss are given information they can understand, and the communication support they need. They told us they provided and accessed information for people that was understandable to them and ensured information was available in different formats and fonts.

The service was very well led by the registered manager and providers, supported by a dedicated team. There were quality assurance systems in place to help monitor the quality of the service, and identify any areas which might require improvement.

There were regular meetings with people who used the service and surveys for people who used the service had been undertaken. This meant that there were mechanisms in place to communicate with people and their relatives and involve them in decision making in relation to the service.

The registered manager had worked hard to develop links with the local community.