Rustington Convalescent Home

Updated 3 November 2023

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.

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

The inspection was carried out by two inspectors. One inspector conducted a site visit, and another carried out telephone calls to people, relatives and staff members to obtain their feedback.

Service and service type

Rustington Convalescent Home is a ‘care home’. People in care homes receive accommodation and nursing and/or personal care as a single package under one contractual agreement dependent on their registration with us. Rustington Convalescent Home is a care home with nursing care. CQC regulates both the premises and the care provided, and both were looked at during this inspection.

Registered Manager

This provider is required to have a registered manager to oversee the delivery of regulated activities at this location. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission to manage the service. Registered managers and providers are legally responsible for how the service is run, for the quality and safety of the care provided and compliance with regulations. At the time of our inspection there was a registered manager in post.

Notice of inspection

We gave a short period notice of the inspection. This was because we needed to be sure that the provider or registered manager would be in the office to support the inspection.

What we did before the inspection

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 reviewed information we currently hold about the service which includes statutory notifications. This is information the provider is required to send us. We used all this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection

We spoke with 5 people and 2 relatives about the service they and their loved one were receiving. We spoke with the registered manager, 1 nurse, and 2 care assistants. We spoke with 1 professional on site about their experience of working with the home. We contacted 3 professionals to obtain feedback about the home.

We reviewed records that included 3 people's care plans, risk assessments and medicine administration records. We also looked at records relating to the management of the service, including safety management records, quality assurance systems, and staff recruitment.

Updated 3 November 2023

About the service

Rustington Convalescent Home is a residential care home providing personal care for to up to 30 people. The home primarily provides short term convalescence to adults following an operation, accident or illness, although short term respite care is also provided. At the time of our inspection there were 14 people using the service. The home is a Grade II listed building located on the Sussex coast. The home has 26 single rooms and two twin rooms, all of which had en-suite bathrooms.

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

People’s experiences at the home were positive. People told us that staff were helpful, caring and friendly in their approach and they provided a good standard of care and support. One person said, “The care and the place itself is charming.”

People told us they felt safe living at the home, and relatives said their felt that their loved ones were safely cared for. Risks to people’s health and wellbeing were assessed and mitigated by staff who knew them well. People were protected from the risk of abuse. There were enough staff to support people safely while staff had been recruited in line with the providers policy. People’s medicines were managed safely and effectively.

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, staff and relatives spoke positively about the registered manager. Management were approachable and open to feedback and discussions about people’s care. The quality of people’s care was supported by effective quality assurance systems.

The registered manager encouraged feedback from people, staff and professionals involved in people’s care. Staff worked closely with health professionals and external agencies to promote good outcomes for people. People spoke positively about the openness, engagement and involvement of the registered manager. One professional said, “On each visit to Rustington Convalescent Home I have witnessed care and respect to all residents by all staff. The atmosphere is always welcoming and friendly and residents always seem happy and relaxed.”

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 24 August 2016)

Why we inspected

This inspection was prompted by a review of the information we held about this service.

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 remained the same.

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