Gorsey Clough Nursing Home

Updated 9 June 2022

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 Health and Social Care Act 2008.

Inspection team

The inspection was carried out by one inspector at the home and an Expert by Experience who made calls to relatives. An Expert by Experience is a person who has personal experience of using or caring for someone who uses this type of care service.

Service and service type

Gorsey Clough Nursing Home is a nursing 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.

Registered Manager

This service is required to have a registered manager. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission to manage the service. This means that they and the provider are legally responsible for how the service is run and for the quality and safety of the care provided. At the time of our inspection there was a registered manager in post.

Notice of inspection

This inspection was unannounced.

What we did before the inspection

Before the inspection we reviewed the information, we had received about the home since they registered with us. We reviewed CQC notifications. Notifications describe events that happen in the service that the provider is legally required to tell us about.

We reviewed information we had received about the service since the last inspection. We sought feedback from the local authority and professionals who work with the service. We used the information the provider sent us in the provider information return (PIR). This is information providers are required to send us annually with key information about their service, what they do well, and improvements they plan to make. We used all this information to plan our inspection.

We used all of this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection

We spoke with the four people, ten relatives, the registered manager, deputy manager, a nurse and four staff. We observed staff practices and how they interacted with people. We reviewed a range of records relating to the management of the home. This included people's care records, training records and staff recruitment records. We considered all this information to help us to make a judgement about the home.

We used the Short Observational Framework for Inspection (SOFI). SOFI is a way of observing care to help us understand the experience of people who could not talk with us. We also looked at records and associated documentation concerning care plans, governance, and safe systems of work.

After the inspection

We carried out a video call meeting with the registered manager. This was to discuss what we found during our visit and to collect further evidence through questions and discussion. We continued to seek clarification from the registered manager to validate evidence found.

Updated 9 June 2022

About the service

Gorsey Clough Nursing Home is a care home providing personal and nursing care for up to 50 people and specialises in supporting people with a variety of types of dementia and whom may present with complex challenges. At the time of the inspection there were 41 people living at the home.

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

People who lived at Gorsey Clough Nursing Home received excellent care from an exceptionally well led service, passionate and dedicated staff team. The positive culture, ethos, vision and values of the service shone through from the moment of entering the home, ensuring people where are the heart of the service .

The home has undergone a major refurbishment over the past three years, and this has been completed to an exceptionally high standard. The design and decoration, both internally and externally followed best practice standards for creating an environment that supported people living with dementia, memory problems, behaviours that challenge and mental health support needs.

People were treated with exceptional care and kindness. They and their relatives thought very highly of the staff and praised their caring, thoughtfulness and willingness to go above and beyond the call of duty for them. One relative told us, ‘We were shown round the home by the manager and we felt valued, not just another customer. Their whole ethos about care spoke volumes to us.”

The passion and motivation of the registered manager and senior staff created a committed staff team. These key members of staff supported nursing and care staff to provide an outstanding level of person centred care to people through regular reflection and learning.

People had access to a wide range of activities which enabled them to live fulfilled and active lives. There were numerous examples of staff's endeavour to provide meaningful experiences and lasting, happy memories. A range of activities were available and well attended across the home. Activities were extremely person-centred and were held individually and in groups.

There had been a significant investment in staff training and development of staff, which had resulted in improved outcomes for people, particularly those living with dementia. Several staff attended university and a number of staff had graduated with foundation degrees in health and social care.

People receiving end of life care experienced a comfortable, dignified and pain-free death. Staff had received bespoke training to help them meet the needs of people and their families. Staff provided emotional support and practical assistance needed at the end of the person's life. One relative commented, “It was an extremely sad and distressing time for us when [person’s name] reached their end of life pathway. However, the staff at Gorsey Clough were just amazing. They treated [person’s name] with the utmost dignity and care.”

The home was exceptionally well led. There was a continuous ethos of learning and improvement for the people, the staff and management of the home. Everyone we spoke with felt wholly supported by the management team. The provider and registered manager had complete oversight of the home and were at the forefront of it. The provider had systems in place to monitor and continually improve the home and peoples experiences, working collaborative with external agencies, maintaining strong i communications, the sharing of good practice to ensure the achievement of high quality care and support across the organisation.

Staff involved in the inspection demonstrated a genuine passion for the roles they performed and their individual responsibilities. Visions for people and plans for the future were understood and shared across the staff team. They embraced new initiatives with the support of the registered manager and colleagues. They continued to look at the needs of people who used the service and ways to make positive changes.

Risks to people's safety and well-being were managed through an effective risk management process. There were sufficient experienced staff deployed to meet people's needs. Medicines were managed safely and in line with best practice guidance. One person’s relative told us, “[Person’s name] medicines have been reviewed and they are now on a lot less, which has improved things greatly.”

Care plans were in place which captured people's needs. Staff could accurately describe individuals plans of care and people were involved in developing and reviewing them along with people and their representatives.

Staff took great pride in creating an atmosphere that welcomed people. People had a pleasant, well-presented dining experience which offered a variety of appetising food choices available at times that suited their individual preferences. Staff supported people to maintain food and fluid intake, including, a continuous supply of snacks, and making people hot drinks to help them relax and maintain their comfort.

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. Staff had an excellent understanding of when the principles of the Mental Capacity Act should be applied.

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 (published 1 May 2019).

Why we inspected

This was a planned inspection based on the previous rating.

Follow up

We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service until we return to visit as per our re-inspection programme. If we receive any concerning information we may inspect sooner.

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.