Anning House

Anning House is a residential care home providing personal and nursing care to up to 70 people. The service is arranged over three floors and specialises in the care of older people including people who are living with dementia. At the time of the inspection there were 57 people living at the service.

This care home is run by two companies: Care UK Community Partnerships Ltd and WT UK Opco 4. These two companies have a dual registration and are jointly responsible for the services at the home.

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

The registered manager and provider had identified that record keeping was an area for improvement. They were taking immediate action to address shortfalls. We have made a recommendation for the provider to continue to develop accurate and up to date records (care plans) to ensure people continue to receive the care they need in a way they prefer.

People felt safe at the service and relatives and professional expressed their confidence in the staff team. Comments included, “It is fantastic here… the staff are excellent”, “You couldn’t wish for more…the staff are super” and “It is a comfort for us to know my (loved one) is safe and well cared for”

Staff were clear about how to safeguard people from avoidable harm and safeguarding concerns were referred appropriately and investigated. People received their medicines safely. Infection control processes protected people from the risk of infection. Accident and incidents were managed safely. The registered manager had oversight of accidents and incidents and used this information to drive service improvements.

The registered manager ensured sufficient numbers of staff were on duty to meet people’s needs and provide appropriate care and support. There was on-going recruitment to fill some staff vacancies. Regular agency staff were used to cover staff absences and vacancies. Safe recruitment practices were followed, and staff were suitably trained and supported to enable them to understand and meet people’s needs. Refresher training for staff was being organised.

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’s health and wellbeing was monitored, and people benefitted from the good working relationships established with health and social care professionals. People were given the support they required to meet their nutritional needs. People were positive about the food provided. They received a varied and balanced diet in line with their personal choices.

People were supported in a respectful and dignified way, their privacy was respected and their independence was promoted.

Meaningful activities and events were provided for people to take part in and they were supported to maintain relationships with the people that mattered to them. Visitors said they always received a warm welcome. People felt safe to raise any concerns or complaints with the registered manager.

The provider and registered manager monitored the quality and safety of the service and identified areas which could be improved.

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

Why we inspected

This was a planned comprehensive inspection of a new provider. A new provider registered with us since the last comprehensive inspection of this location. This is the first comprehensive inspection under the new registered provider. A focused inspection was completed on 06 May 2022 and rated safe and well led as good.

The last rating for the service under the previous provider at the premises was good, published on 12 December 2019.

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.

Recommendations

We have recommended the provider continue to develop accurate and up to date records (care plans) to ensure people continue to receive the care they need in a way they prefer.

Follow up

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

Anning House is a residential care home providing personal and nursing care to up to 70 people. The home is arranged over three floors and specialises in the care of older people including people who are living with dementia.

At the time of the inspection there were 43 people living at the home.

Since the last inspection the home’s name and provider has changed.

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

People felt safe and were comfortable and relaxed with staff who supported them. Throughout the inspection we saw kind, relaxed, compassionate and caring interactions between people and staff. We observed that staff were respectful of people and took time to offer support and reassurance when needed

Any risks to people were fully assessed and planned for. The manager told us they were starting to make people’s electronic care plans much more personalised.

Staff were recruited safely and there were enough staff to meet people's needs. There was an ongoing recruitment programme. Staff received training, support and supervision. Staff told us they felt well supported and they spoke fondly and knowledgeably about the people they cared for.

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.

There was a happy relaxed atmosphere with a wide variety of activities and social stimulation for people. People were able to make choices about their day to day lives and were encouraged to continue to follow their interests.

There was an open and positive culture within the home and people, their relatives, staff and professionals told us the manager and management team were approachable and helpful.

There were governance arrangements in place and systems to monitor the quality and safety of the service provided. The manager and provider took immediate action to address some governance shortfalls identified at the start of the inspection. Accurate record keeping remains an area for improvement identified in the manager and provider’s service improvement plan.

For more information, please read the detailed findings section of this report. If you are reading this as a separate summary, the full report can be found on the Care Quality Commission (CQC) website at www.cqc.org.uk

Rating at last inspection and update

At our last inspection we recommended that management of risks, pre-employment checks and oversight and monitoring of the service were improved. At this inspection we found the provider had acted on the recommendations and they had made improvements.

Why we inspected

We carried out an unannounced comprehensive inspection of this service on 3 and 6 May 2022.

We undertook this focused inspection to check if the provider had made improvements and in response to some concerns raised in feedback via our website. The concerns related to staffing, visiting, risks related to eating and drinking, activities and communication with people and relatives. This report only covers our findings in relation to the key questions safe, responsive and well-led.

For those key questions not inspected, we used the ratings awarded at the last inspection to calculate the overall rating.

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 COVID-19 and other infection outbreaks effectively.

You can read the report from our last comprehensive inspection, by selecting the ‘all reports’ link for Anning House 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.