We carried out a review of the data available to us about Harry Sotnick House on 6 July 2023. We have not found evidence that we need to carry out an inspection or reassess our rating at this stage.
This could change at any time if we receive new information. We will continue to monitor data about this service.
If you have concerns about Harry Sotnick House, you can give feedback on this service.
Harry Sotnick House is a residential care home providing personal and nursing care to up to 92 people. It is split in to two units. The nursing unit is on the ground floor and supports people living with dementia and physical frailty. The ‘discharge to assess’ unit is on the first floor and supports people for a short time who have been discharged from hospital, prior to them moving on to their longer-term placement. At the time of our inspection there were 81 people using the service.
People’s experience of using this service and what we found
The provider’s quality assurance systems were not fully effective in identifying all concerns in the service. We have made a recommendation about this. When the provider was made aware of any issues they acted promptly and effectively to address them.
People received their medicines as prescribed. Risks associated with people’s needs and health conditions were effectively assessed, monitored and mitigated. Staff knew people well and understood how to support them safely. People were protected from the risk of abuse because the provider had effective safeguarding systems in place.
Recruitment practices were safe and there were enough staff available to meet people's needs. Effective systems were in place to prevent and control the spread of infection.
People were mostly 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 told us they had enough training to carry out their roles effectively and were well supported. The provider worked well with healthcare professionals to ensure joined up care and good outcomes for people. People were supported in a personalised way to eat and drink well.
People and relatives spoke positively about the care people received. People were supported by kind and caring staff, treated with dignity and respect and involved as partners in their care.
People’s needs were met in a personalised way. People had been supported to maintain relationships and to take part in activities that were enjoyable and meaningful for them. The provider used complaints to improve the quality of care. People received compassionate care at the end of their lives and were appropriately supported at this time.
The service had a positive person-centred culture. Although the provider had an open and honest approach, records needed improving to demonstrate how they met the duty of candour requirements. We have made a recommendation about this.
People, relatives and staff provided us with positive feedback about the management team and thought the home was well-led. They also told us they would recommend the home to others.
For more details, please see the full report which is on the CQC website at www.cqc.org.uk
Rating at last inspection
This service was registered with us on 1 April 2020 and this is the first inspection. The last rating for the service under the previous provider was good (published 28 December 2019).
Why we inspected
This inspection was prompted in part, by a review of the information we held about this service and based on the date it registered with us.
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.
Recommendations
We have made recommendations for the provider to improve their practice in relation to duty of candour and governance.
We will continue to monitor the service and will take further action if needed.
We found the following examples of good practice.
¿ All visitors were screened for symptoms of acute respiratory infection before being allowed to enter the home, a health questionnaire was being used. Visitors had their temperature taken and recorded on the questionnaire, personal protective equipment (PPE) was available at the entrance and people were supported to follow the Governments guidance on wearing PPE and social distancing.
¿ Visiting on the Gunwharf unit was assessed on an individual basis through risk assessments, there was no routine visiting, however by exception arrangements are in place for people on end of life care to receive visitors. These visits are pre planned.
¿ Bedrooms had en-suite facilities, hospital beds and nurse call systems. Consideration had been given to ensure rooms are furnished with wipe clean seating and the flooring was laminated in all bedrooms and bathrooms. Corridor carpets were steamed clean every day. Curtains had been removed from all windows in the unit and replaced with wipe clean blinds. Each room had its own television and radio. The unit was spacious and allowed social distancing to be maintained in communal areas.
¿ Staff had their own entrance to the Gunwharf unit which enabled them to change from their day wear to work uniform before entering the unit. Staff put on their PPE outside of the unit which supported to reduce the risk of cross infection. There were PPE stations inside of the unit for staff to change their PPE prior to entering individual rooms, clinical waste bins were in place for used PPE. There was a staff rest area on the unit that has facilities for staff to shower. PPE guidance was displayed at PPE stations.
¿ Staff had access to weekly testing for Covid-19. This meant action could be taken swiftly in the event anyone developed symptoms of the virus or had a positive test result. This ensured that staff were tested for Covid 19 in a consistent way. Individual risk assessments had been conducted on staff which identified any vulnerabilities they may have in relation to coronavirus and any mitigating action that the provider needed to implement
¿ Staff had received training in the appropriate use of PPE and infection prevention and control training had been carried out by all staff. There were sufficient supplies of PPE including face visors to ensure staff are protected from the virus. The registered manager had a system in place to ensure staff have enough supplies of PPE by monitoring stock levels and regular auditing.
¿ Enhanced cleaning schedules including regular cleaning of high touch areas such as handrails and door handles were in place. This reduced the risk of cross infection.
¿ The provider had ensured there was a detailed infection prevention and control policy in place. This provided guidance on infection control for staff, people and any visitors. This also included risk assessments of the environment and the tasks being completed. Infection control auditing system would be carried out monthly by external auditors and action plans put in place by the registered manager to monitor improvements and recommendations. Managers carried out PPE audits weekly to ensure there are sufficient PPE for use on the unit, staff were monitored to ensure guidance on wearing PPE is observed.
We were assured that this service met good infection prevention and control guidelines as a designated care setting
Further information is in the detailed findings below.