Archived: Health and Home Ltd - North Road

Updated 5 June 2021

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.

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

Two inspectors attended the service on the first day of inspection. On the second day of inspection two inspectors and an inspection manager attended the providers head office.

Service and service type

Health and Home Ltd - North Road 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.

Notice of inspection

This inspection was unannounced on the first day and announced on the second day.

What we did before the inspection

We reviewed information we had received about the service since the last inspection. We sought feedback from the local authority. 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

We spoke with four people who used the service about their experience of the care provided. We spoke with three members of staff including the provider, registered manager and a care worker. We reviewed a range of records. This included three people’s care records and multiple medication records. We looked at two staff files in relation to recruitment and staff supervision. A variety of records relating to the management of the service, including policies and audits were reviewed.

After the inspection

We continued to seek clarification from the provider to validate evidence found.

Updated 5 June 2021

About the service

Health and Home Ltd - North Road is registered to provide accommodation and personal care for up to a maximum of 9 people. The service is set over two floors, with a small paved garden area to the rear of the property. On the day of our inspection, there were 5 people living at the service who required support with their physical and mental health needs.

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

People told us they were happy living at the service but found they were often bored and looked forward to being able to go out again in the community when lockdown eased.

The provider did not have robust processes in place to check staff’s suitability before commencing employment.

Governance processes were not consistent, and we could not be sure the provider had oversight of the service or followed regulatory processes.

Staff knew how to safeguard people and raise concerns; however, the provider did not follow the correct processes to report safeguarding concerns.

There were systems in place to manage infection control and staff were following government guidance.

Risk assessments and care plans were individual and supported people’s needs. Medicines was managed safely.

For more details, please see the full report which is on the CQC website at www.cqc.org.uk

Rating at last inspection: The rating at the last inspection was requires improvement report published 17 October 2019. The service remains rated requires improvement. This service has been rated requires improvement for the last three consecutive inspections.

Why we inspected: This was a planned inspection based on the previous rating.

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 have found evidence that the provider needs to make improvements. Please see the relevant key question for safe and well led sections of this full report.

We reviewed the information we held about the service. No areas of concern were identified in the other key questions. We therefore did not inspect them. Ratings from previous comprehensive inspections for those key questions were used in calculating the overall rating at this inspection.

You can see what action we have asked the provider to take at the end of this full report.

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

Enforcement: We are mindful of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on our regulatory function. This meant we took account of the exceptional circumstances arising as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic when considering what enforcement action was necessary and proportionate to keep people safe as a result of this inspection. We will continue to discharge our regulatory enforcement functions required to keep people safe and to hold providers to account where it is necessary for us to do so.

We have identified breaches in relation to recruitment of staff and good governance at this inspection.

Please see the action we have told the provider to take at the end of this report.

Follow up: We will request an action plan for the provider to understand what they will do to improve the standards of quality and safety. We will work alongside the provider and local authority to monitor progress. We will return to visit as per our re-inspection programme. If we receive any concerning information we may inspect sooner.