Chamber Mount

Updated 9 March 2022

We carried out this inspection under Section 60 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 as part of our regulatory functions. This inspection was planned to check whether the provider is meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Health and Social Care Act 2008.

As part of CQC’s response to care homes with outbreaks of COVID-19, we are conducting reviews to ensure that the Infection Prevention and Control (IPC) practice is safe and that services are compliant with IPC measures. This was a targeted inspection looking at the IPC practices the provider has in place. We also asked the provider about any staffing pressures the service was experiencing and whether this was having an impact on the service.

This inspection took place on 25 February 2022 and was announced. We gave the service 24 hours’ notice of the inspection.

Updated 9 March 2022

About the service:

Chamber Mount is a residential home that was providing personal and nursing care to 22 people aged 65 and over at the time of the inspection.

People’s experience of using this service:

People received care which met their needs and wishes. Care plans clearly explained how people wished to be supported and how staff could keep them safe.

• Staff understood how to keep people safe from harm and procedures were in place to identify, investigate and report suspicions of abuse. Environmental risk assessments ensured the safety of the premises. Staff assessed risks to people’s health, safety and wellbeing and put plans in place to manage these risks.

• Staff were safely recruited and there were enough staff to meet people’s assessed needs.

• Care records were well organised and written to place the person at the centre of any activity, and holistic reviews of care involving the person ensured a person-centred approach to changing needs.

• People were well cared for by staff who showed genuine affection for the people they supported. Personal belongings were treated with respect. People were encouraged to exercise choice and choose how they spent their time. Staff promoted people’s independence to ensure they retained current skills and abilities.

• Care staff told us they received appropriate support and we saw the service had embedded good supervision procedures to discuss their work performance and any issues affecting their work. All staff completed an induction training programme when they began work at Chamber Mount and had ongoing training opportunities, including end of life care.

• Staff communicated well with one another before during and after each shift to ensure continuity of care. We saw that the service had developed good links with the local authority, and health care professionals such as general practitioners and district nurses. Staff were vigilant to health needs and people told us they had good access to health care.

• People and staff’s views on the service were sought through annual surveys and questionnaires, and regular staff meetings and resident/relative meetings. The service had a complaints policy and people we spoke with understood how to make a complaint.

• systems and procedures in place monitored the quality and effectiveness of the service. Regular audits identified areas of good practice and issues for improvement.

• The service had a registered manager who was respected and held in high regard by staff and people who lived at Chamber Mount. The registered manager promoted a homely atmosphere where people appeared comfortable and content.

• The service met the characteristics for a rating of ‘good’ in all key questions.

• More information is in the full report.

Rating at last inspection:

This was the first inspection of Chamber Mount since a change of ownership in October 2017.

The last inspection in February 2016 rated the service as good.

Why we inspected: [where relevant: improvement plan at last inspection; incidents or third-party investigations we were aware of at inspection and risks]; scheduled/planned inspection based on previous rating; inspection brought forward due to information of risk or concern;]

This inspection was part of our scheduled plan of visiting services to check the safety and quality of care people received.

Follow up: ongoing monitoring; possibly more about how we will follow up

We will continue to monitor information and intelligence we receive about the service to ensure care remains safe and of good quality. We will return to re-inspect in line with our inspection timescales for good services, however if any information of concern is received, we may inspect sooner.