Pinelodge Care Home

Updated 17 March 2022

We carried out this inspection under Section 60 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 as part of our regulatory functions. This inspection was planned to check whether the provider is meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Health and Social Care Act 2008.

As part of CQC’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic we are looking at how services manage infection control and visiting arrangements. This was a targeted inspection looking at the infection prevention and control measures the provider had in place. We also asked the provider about any staffing pressures the service was experiencing and whether this was having an impact on the service.

This inspection took place on 22 February 2022 and was unannounced.

Updated 17 March 2022

About the service: Pinelodge Care Home provides accommodation, nursing and personal care to older people. The care home accommodates up to 140 people in one purpose built building. At the time of the inspection 109 people were living there.

People’s experience of using this service:

The recruitment process was not robust. For example, full employment history had not always been taken and references not always verified to satisfy themselves that the person was fit to work in a care setting. People’s view on staffing varied, as did the staff team’s feedback. Staff hours were assessed in accordance with a dependency tool which calculated the number of hours of support people needed. There were systems in place to help ensure staff were trained and received regular supervision. Staff felt supported.

There were areas of the home that were in need of repair and refurbishment. There were plans to complete this work. However, bathrooms and communal toilets posed an infection control risk and did not make the bath or shower time experience pleasant.

People had their individual risks assessed and staff were aware of these. People were supported safely. People received their medicines when needed. People’s personal care needs were met and the internal monitoring showed a reduction of falls, weight loss and pressure ulcers. This indicated care was delivered in accordance with people’s assessed risks.

The provider had systems in place to help them identify and resolve any issues in the home. Many of the issues found on inspection had been identified through this process.

People were happy at the service and were supported by staff who knew them well. People felt privacy and dignity was promoted. People were able to choose how to spend their time and encouraged to make decisions about their care. People’s care plans included information that gave staff information on how to support people.

People told us they enjoyed the activities available. People had the opportunity to go out. Staff needed to be reminded to ensure everyone was given the opportunity to join in with activities each day and to communicate to people what was on offer. There were communal areas such as a tea room, pub and library. They were all used on the day of inspection, but staff told us they were typically used once a week.

The registered manager was well known throughout the home and people and staff were positive about them. All staff were clear about what was expected of them and the plans for the service were shared with them, along with any lessons learned from events or incidents.

The service met the characteristics for a rating of "Requires improvement" in two key questions and met the characteristics for a rating “Good” in three key questions.

More information about our inspection findings is in the full report. Please see the action we have told the provider to take’ section towards the end of the report

Rating at last inspection: At the last inspection the service was rated as requires improvement, with Well Led rated as inadequate. There were breaches of regulation. At this inspection we found that well led had improved it’s rating to requires improvement and the number of breaches had reduced.

Why we inspected:

This inspection was part of our scheduled plan of visiting services to check the safety and quality of care people received.

Follow up:

We asked the provider for monthly updates on the progress of the refurbishment plan. We will continue to monitor the service to ensure it provides safe and effective care. We will plan further inspections in the future.