Arlington House

Updated 21 January 2021

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 Care Act 2014.

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 one inspector.

Service and service type

Arlington House is a ‘care 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.

The service had a manager registered with the Care Quality Commission. 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.

Notice of inspection

We gave a short period of notice of the inspection. This was to establish the safest and most appropriate way of carrying out our inspection visit during the COVID-19 pandemic.

What we did before the inspection

We reviewed information we had about the service. The provider was not asked to complete a provider information return prior to this inspection. This is information we require providers to send us to give some key information about the service, what the service does well and improvements they plan to make. We took this into account when we inspected the service and made the judgements in this report.

We asked the provider to send us information that included risk assessments and care plans for five people, documents relating to staffing, Covid 19 contingency plans as well documentation relating to quality assurance systems and management oversight. We spoke to two relatives to obtain their feedback and views about the home.

We used all of this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection

We spoke with three people and three members of staff including the registered manager, home manager and senior care worker. We spent a short time in the home whilst people were relaxing in the communal lounge and receiving support. This gave us an opportunity to observe staff interactions with people.

We reviewed records that included care plans, risk assessments and medicine administration records. We looked at three staff files in relation to recruitment and staff supervision. We also looked at records relating to the management of the service, including policies and procedures and quality assurance systems.

After the inspection

We continued to seek clarification from the provider to validate evidence found. We looked at risk assessments for five people. We spoke with one senior care worker by telephone and two relatives. We also sought feedback from partner agencies and professionals.

Updated 21 January 2021

About the service

Arlington House is a residential care home providing personal care to a maximum of 33 people. The home is an adapted building combining four terraced houses with care provided over three floors. At the time of the inspection 23 people were living at the home. The people living there are older people with a range of health and mental health needs including people living with dementia.

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

People and their relatives told us they were happy with the service they received. They described the care workers as kind and caring, and said the management team were visible, proactive and committed. One person said, “It’s a family business and the home is like a family.”

The registered manager had addressed the areas identified for improvement following the last inspection. For example, systems for safeguarding people from abuse had been reviewed and were now robust. Incidents were reviewed and safeguarding concerns had been appropriately identified and escalated in line with the provider’s policy.

Systems for monitoring quality and managing risks had been improved and embedded. There were robust arrangements to support governance and to provide management oversight. People told us they were happy with the care they received, and that staff helped them to feel safe.

Risk assessments and care plans guided staff in how to provide care safely and in the way the person preferred. There were enough suitable staff employed to ensure people were safe.

Appropriate infection control procedures for the Covid 19 pandemic were in place to keep people safe. Staff had received additional training and used appropriate Personal Protective Equipment.

People and relatives were happy with how responsive staff were to their needs. Staff and management knew people well and were proactive in responding to changing health and care needs.

People and their loved ones were happy with the managements approach to their relatives care and told us they were approachable, dedicated and caring.

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 Requires Improvement, report published 16 May 2019. They were in breach of regulation 13 (Safeguarding) and 18 (Staffing) of the Health and Social Care Act 2008. The provider completed an action plan after the last inspection to show what they would do and by when to improve. At this inspection, enough improvement had been made and the provider was no longer in breach of regulations.

Why we inspected

This was a planned inspection based on the previous rating.

We undertook this focused inspection to check they had followed their action plan and to confirm they now met legal requirements. This report only covers our findings in relation to the Key Questions Safe and Responsive which contain those requirements. We also looked at the Key Question of Well-led.

The ratings from the previous comprehensive inspection for those key questions not looked at on this occasion were used in calculating the overall rating at this inspection. 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 coronavirus and other infection outbreaks effectively.

You can read the report from our last comprehensive inspection, by selecting the ‘all reports’ link for Arlington House on our website at www.cqc.org.uk.