About the service: New Milton House is a residential care home that is registered to provide personal care for up to 39 people. Accommodation is provided over two floors. There are numerous lounges and dining rooms for people to use within the building. People also have access to secure outdoor space. At the time of our inspection there were 39 people living in the home. People’s experience of using this service:
There were three breaches at our last inspection and the registered manager was asked to submit an action plan on how they would address these shortfalls. We received this and we saw improvements at this inspection. However, there were still areas for continued improvement and we found two breaches at this inspection in relation to staffing and dignity and respect.
People and their relatives were positive about the home, its staff and the manager. They raised issues about staffing numbers, activities and the environment. People told us that staff were kind and friendly and knew them well.
People and their relatives felt that they received safe care. They received their medication at times they needed this and by staff who were trained to administer this safely. There was scope for improvement in the management of topical creams.
There were insufficient experienced, knowledgeable staff to meet the needs of the people living in the service. We noted times when people had to wait for assistance and staff lacked awareness of how to support people who were living with dementia.
Recruitment was managed safely. The necessary checks were completed prior to staff starting work, however there were no checks on staff’s health and whether they needed any reasonable adjustments to complete their job.
Staff received inductions when they started work and received ongoing training and support and supervision to maintain and develop their skills and knowledge. However, this was not always effective as staff told us this was all on line and staff did not receive training on how to support people living with dementia even though there were two specific dementia units.
We noted that people were not always treated with dignity and their privacy was not respected as staff were often discussing people’s personal issues in communal areas.
The home was clean, however there was scope for improvement as the home would benefit from adaptions for people living with dementia. Regular checks were completed on equipment to ensure safety and staff had access to personal protective equipment to reduce risks of infection control.
People had access to activities, however these were not varied and were limited for people living with dementia.
We received positive comments about the registered manager. However we saw the systems in place to make improvements to the service had not identified all the issues we found in this inspection. Improvements which had been identified had been actioned.
The registered provider was acting within the principles of the Mental Capacity Act 2005. Where necessary, people’s capacity was assessed, and decisions were taken and recorded in people’s best interests looking at the least restrictive options.
People’s health needs were effectively assessed and monitored. Where people needed access to other health professionals, referrals were completed, and advice recorded.
People knew how to complain and were confident that that their concerns would be listened to and acted upon.
More information is in the full report below.
Rating at last inspection: Requires improvement (Report published 13 June 2018).
Why we inspected: This inspection was brought forward due to concerns that had been raised with us.
Enforcement: This is the second time the service has been rated requires improvement. We have asked the provider to send an action plan of how they will address the breaches in regulation and improve the service to at least good. Full details are at the back of this report.
Follow up: We will continue to monitor intelligence we receive about the service until we return to visit as per our re-inspection programme. 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