Archived: Broom Lane Care Home

Broom Lane Care Home provides personal care to older people with a range of support needs, including dementia. It is divided into 3 discrete units and accommodates up to 60 people. There were no vacancies at the time of the inspection.

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

We were assured people were being cared for safely. The provider continued to demonstrate a high regard to the risks presented by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Relevant risk assessments had been carried out, and staff had received appropriate training in relation to infection prevention and control.

Medicines were safely managed, and staff had been trained in relation to medicines management. Records of medicines received, administered and returned were clear, and storage arrangements for medicines were appropriate.

Staff had received training in relation to safeguarding, and the provider had suitable arrangements in place for responding to any incidents of suspected abuse. Relatives told us they believed the home to be a safe place.

Staff told us they felt supported by management within the home. The registered manager was skilled and experienced, and supported by a deputy manager and area manager. There were formal and informal arrangements in place for dialogue between staff and managers.

Recruitment was undertaken safely, with appropriate background checks before staff started work.

Governance arrangements were suitable to ensure the provision of safe care, with the area manager telling us about recent incidents and lessons learned. The management team worked transparently with external agencies, such as healthcare professionals and the local authority, to ensure people were well 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.

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.

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 January 2022)

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 remains good based on the findings of this inspection. You can read the report from our last comprehensive inspection, by selecting the ‘all reports’ link for Broom Lane Care Home on our website at www.cqc.org.uk.

Why we inspected

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

Follow up

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

Broom Lane care home is a care home providing accommodation and personal and nursing care to up to 60 people. Accommodation is provided across two floors in one adapted building. At the time of our inspection 56 people were living at the home.

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

The service was not always well-led. Systems were not always effective in monitoring quality and driving improvements across the service. Audits had not always been effective in identifying issues. Where an audit had identified shortfalls action plans had not always been implemented in a timely way to deliver improvements.

Medicines were managed safely however; medicines records were not always accurately maintained.

People and their families told us they felt safe. Staff understood their role in recognising and reporting safeguarding or poor practice concerns. Risks to people were understood by the staff team and actions to keep people safe from harm were followed, monitored and reviewed. Staff had been trained in infection, prevention and control and practices were in line with government guidance. Recruitment practices included a variety of checks to ensure candidates were suitable.

People were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff supported did 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 induction and on-going training and support which enabled them to carry out their roles effectively. People had their eating and drinking needs understood and met, including allergies and diets linked to health conditions. Effective working with other organisations meant that people received consistent care and had positive health outcomes. Building design, layout, adaptations and decoration maximised people's level of independence.

People were respected as individuals and received care that recognised their care needs, choices and lifestyles. Care staff temporarily provided activities that reflected people's skills, interests and hobbies whilst a dedicated activities co-ordinator was being recruited. People had an opportunity to be involved in end of life planning that included any cultural or spiritual needs. A complaints process was in place which people and relatives felt confident to use if needed.

People, families and staff spoke positively about the open and transparent culture of the service, visible leadership and teamwork. The management team understood their responsibility for sharing information with CQC and met the duty of candour requirements. This meant that they were open and honest and things that went wrong in the service. A range of meetings meant that people, relatives and staff had opportunities to be involved in service development.

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 3 March 2020).

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.

Follow up

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

Broom Lane Care Home provides personal care to older people with a range of support needs, including dementia. It accommodates up to 60 people, and had no vacancies at the time of the inspection.

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

We were assured people were being cared for safely. The provider had demonstrated a high regard to the risks presented by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Risk assessments had been undertaken, and there was a comprehensive testing programme in place for staff and people using the service, as well as for their visitors. Relatives described how they were supported to undertake testing before visiting their loved ones, and said staff were kind and supportive during this process.

Medicines were managed safely, and the provider had an effective system in place for overseeing, analysing and preventing untoward incidents.

Staff told us they understood their responsibilities in relation to safeguarding, and people using the service and their relatives told us they felt safe when receiving care.

Staff gave us a mixed picture of management within the home, with some telling us they felt management to be open and supportive, but others telling us changes were being made which they felt they couldn’t challenge. We shared this feedback with the management team, who told us they would implement an anonymous survey of staff to gain their feedback about changes and understand any concerns staff may have.

Recruitment was undertaken safely, with appropriate background checks before staff started work.

Governance arrangements were robust, and identified and addressed any areas for improvement or shortfalls. There were clear, accurate audit trails of this process.

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 March 2020)

Why we inspected

The inspection was prompted due to concerns received about how the provider was ensuring care was delivered safely in a way that met people’s needs, and about the provider’s governance arrangements. A decision was made for us to inspect and examine those risks. As this was a focussed inspection, we reviewed the key questions of safe and well led only. Ratings from previous comprehensive inspections for other key questions were used in calculating the overall rating at this inspection. The overall rating for the service remains good.

Broom Lane Care Home provides personal care to older people. It accommodates up to 60 people, and 50 were using the service at the time of the inspection. It is located close to Rotherham town centre, and has parking and public transport links.

People’s experience of using this service:

People predominantly gave us positive feedback about their experience of the home; one relative described the care as “fabulous.” People praised the food, with one person saying: “The food is usually pretty good, nothing to complain about.” We observed both breakfast and lunch taking place in the home, and saw they were unhurried and pleasant experiences. When people requested assistance staff attended quickly and understood people’s needs.

People were supported in a safe environment by staff who were deployed in sufficient numbers to meet their needs. Staff were aware of how to safeguard people from abuse and had good knowledge on how to recognise and respond to concerns. A relative we spoke with confirmed they felt their relative was safe at the home.

Care plans were detailed and reflected people’s needs. They were regularly reviewed to ensure any changes to people’s needs were incorporated, and people and their relatives, where appropriate, were encouraged to be involved in these reviews. Risks were assessed and monitored safely.

Medicines were safely managed, and audits ensured managers had a good oversight of this.

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 were recruited safely, with appropriate background checks being made. Records showed staff received training in a wide range of relevant areas, and staff told us training was plentiful and useful

There was a registered manager who was relatively new in post. They had a good oversight of the service and were working hard to deliver improvements and address any areas of concern.

Rating at last inspection:

The last rating for this service was requires improvement (published April 2019)

Why we inspected:

This was a planned comprehensive inspection based on the rating at the last inspection.

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

Broom Lane Care Home provides residential care services to older people with a range of support needs, including dementia. It comprises three discrete units, one of which is specifically designed to meet the needs of people living with dementia. It can accommodate up to 58 people. The home is located near Rotherham town cente, and has parking and public transport access.

People’s experience of using this service:

People received a good standard of care from staff who treated them with dignity and respect. Staff told us they worked to the principle of providing care which they would wish their loved ones to receive.

People using the service, and staff, praised the registered manager and told us they were accessible and supportive. Staff told us they received a good standard of training, and records evidenced this.

We looked at how the provider supported people who could not give consent to their care and treatment. We found the provider was making appropriate applications to relevant authorities whre it was required to deprive people of their liberty, however, there was only limited evidence of best interest decision making relating to people who could not consent.

The premises were well managed and had been designed to meet the needs of people living with dementia. There were further improvements planned and ongoing, and people using the service told us they liked the layout, décor and facilities of the home.

People’s care plans were detailed and person centred, however, risk assessments lacked detail meaning that there wasn’t sufficient information telling staff what steps to take to minimise risks. However, staff we spoke with did understand the risks that people were vulnerable to and how to manage this.

Medicines were predominantly well managed, although we identified a small number of areas where improvements were required.

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

Rating at last inspection:

The service was last inspected in February 2017, where it was rated good.

Why we inspected:

This was a planned comprehensive inspection based on the rating at the last inspection.

Broom Lane Care Home is a 58 bed residential care home, providing care to older adults with a range of support and care needs. At the time of the inspection there were 36 people using the service as a number of rooms were not in use due to a major refurbishment of the home being underway.

Broom Lane Care Home is in Rotherham, South Yorkshire. It is in its own grounds in a quiet, residential area, but close to public transport links and the town centre. The home is a purpose –built building, and comprises two separate units, each with their own lounge and dining area.

The service had a registered manager. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission to manage the service. Like registered providers, they are ‘registered persons’. Registered persons have legal responsibility for meeting the requirements in the Health and Social Care Act and associated Regulations about how the service is run. Staff told us they felt well-supported by the manager and praised the way the home was led.

Staff had a good knowledge of people’s needs, and treated people with respect and dignity. People using the service spoke highly of their experience of receiving care and support at the home.

People’s risk assessments did not always cover all areas where they were vulnerable to risk. Medicines were managed well, although we noted some minor shortfalls.

There were appropriate arrangements in place for safeguarding people from the risk of abuse, and staff were knowledgeable about what action to take if they suspected abuse.

Staff had received training in the Mental Capacity Act, and there were records showing that, where they were able to, people had given consent to their care. Where people lacked capacity, staff acted in their best interests.

People gave us positive feedback about the food. The mealtime we observed had a positive atmosphere and staff took time to ensure people had an enjoyable experience.

There was a thorough plan of activities at the home, including a large amount of involvement in the local community.

Where people’s needs changed, the provider ensured that people received the support they required to ensure their changing needs were met.

Broom Lane Care Home is a 61 bed nursing home, providing care to older adults with a range of support and care needs. At the time of the inspection there were 47 people using the service.

Broom Lane Care Home is in Rotherham, South Yorkshire. It is in its own grounds in a quiet, residential area, but close to public transport links and the town centre. The home is a purpose –built building, and comprises two separate units, each with their own lounge and dining area.

The registered manager had recently left their post. A new manager had been recruited who was commencing the procedures to become registered with CQC. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission to manage the service. Like registered providers, they are ‘registered persons’. Registered persons have legal responsibility for meeting the requirements in the Health and Social Care Act and associated Regulations about how the service is run.

We found that people’s risk assessments did not always cover all areas where they were vulnerable to risk. The care plans we checked required further detail in order to effectively support good care.

Staff had received updated training in moving and handling, and our observations showed that they carried out these procedures in a safe manner.

Medicines were not always effectively managed. We found that stocks did not always accord with records, and records were not always accurate in relation to medicines administered.

Staff interacted with people warmly and with respect. People’s privacy and dignity was upheld when staff were carrying out care tasks. There was a comprehensive plan of activities at the home, including a large amount of involvement in the local community.

Staff had received training in the Mental Capacity Act, and there were records showing that, where they were able to, people had given consent to their care. Where people lacked capacity, staff acted in their best interests, and records supported this. People gave us positive feedback about the food. Changes had recently been implemented which gave people more variety and meals that were more in accordance with their personal preferences.

Improvements had been made in the way that quality audits were carried out, but this had not yet been embedded into practice. The manager had commenced a programme of staff supervision and appraisal, but again this was only just beginning and therefore its effectiveness couldn’t be judged.

We found that. overall, the provider had made significant improvements at the home, although there were further improvements to be made. Because of this, we have removed the home from our special measures arrangements. We will continue to monitor the home to ensure that further improvements are made and sustained.

Broom Lane Care Home is a 61 bed nursing home, providing care to older adults with a range of support and care needs. At the time of the inspection there were 50 people using the service.

Broom Lane Care Home is in Rotherham, South Yorkshire. It is in its own grounds in a quiet, residential area, but close to public transport links and the town centre. The home is a purpose –built building, and comprises two separate units, each with their own lounge and dining area.

At the time of the inspection, there was a registered manager in post. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission to manage the service. Like registered providers, they are ‘registered persons’. Registered persons have legal responsibility for meeting the requirements in the Health and Social Care Act and associated Regulations about how the service is run.

Arrangements at the home for monitoring the care provided, and ensuring it was of high quality, were inadequate. The registered manager did not undertake any formal auditing of care delivery, and, as result, care records and care delivery were inadequate. The company directors carried out a monthly formal audit, but this failed to identify shortfalls across the whole scope of service delivered.

The home was not operated safely. Staff practices in relation to moving and handling people were inadequate and put people at increased risk of harm. The arrangements in place to ensure medication was stored safely were not fit for purpose, and the home did not undertake all the legally required measures in relation to allegations of abuse.

Staff were observed to undertake care tasks without engaging with people, and at times used dehumanising language, or language which did not uphold people’s privacy or dignity. Staff communication was not effective, which had a negative impact on people using the service.

There had been no formal assessments of whether staff were deployed in sufficient numbers to meet people’s needs, and we observed incidents where people were asking for staff assistance but none was available. Staff described incidents where they could not meet people’s needs due to low staffing numbers.

Staff and management had very limited knowledge of consent and the Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards. Care was delivered without people’s consent being obtained, and where people did not have the mental capacity to give consent to their care, the provider had failed to follow the appropriate procedures as set out in law. Very few staff had received training in relation to this.

Staff did not receive a good standard of formal support. Team meetings and staff supervision did not take place at the provider’s planed frequency.

We identified seven breaches of regulation in this inspection. You can see what action we told the provider to take at the back of the full version of the report.’

The overall rating for this service is ‘Inadequate’ and the service is therefore in ‘Special measures’.

Services in special measures will be kept under review and, if we have not taken immediate action to propose to cancel the provider’s registration of the service, will be inspected again within six months.

The expectation is that providers found to have been providing inadequate care should have made significant improvements within this timeframe.

If not enough improvement is made within this timeframe so that there is still a rating of inadequate for any key question or overall, we will take action in line with our enforcement procedures to begin the process of preventing the provider from operating this service. This will lead to cancelling their registration or to varying the terms of their registration within six months if they do not improve. This service will continue to be kept under review and, if needed, could be escalated to urgent enforcement action. Where necessary, another inspection will be conducted within a further six months, and if there is not enough improvement so there is still a rating of inadequate for any key question or overall, we will take action to prevent the provider from operating this service. This will lead to cancelling their registration or to varying the terms of their registration.

For adult social care services the maximum time for being in special measures will usually be no more than 12 months. If the service has demonstrated improvements when we inspect it and it is no longer rated as inadequate for any of the five key questions it will no longer be in special measures.

Below is a summary of what we found. The summary is based on our observations during the inspection, speaking with people using the service, speaking with the staff supporting them and looking at records.

If you want to see the evidence supporting our summary please read the full report.

Is the service safe?

People were treated with respect and dignity by the staff. Staff were given appropriate support and guidance to ensure that they cared for people safely. People benefited from a varied choice of nutritional foods. People were protected from the risk of abuse. Staff had appropriate training and appropriate guidance was followed. People were cared for in a clean, hygienic environment. Systems were in place for the manager to monitor the quality of the service and ensure it was run safely.

Is the service effective?

People's needs were assessed and care and treatment was planned. Care plans contained assessments of people's care and support needs. These assessments described the steps staff should take to ensure each person's needs were met. These were predominantly reviewed with the frequency and consistency expected by the provider.

Is the service caring?

We observed that staff were caring and respectful towards people. Each care task we observed took place in a patient and kind manner. People spoke positively about their experience of receiving care at the home.

Is the service responsive?

Staff acted upon people's needs and in accordance with their wishes. Where people needed specific support or care, we saw evidence that this was delivered in accordance with people's needs.

Is the service well-led?

There was a quality assurance system in place, where staff internal and external to the home carried out a quality monitoring programme. This system was completed with frequency, robustly and in detail. Staff we spoke with believed they were well led and had confidence in the management team.