• Care Home
  • Care home

Archived: Belmont Grange Residential Home

5-6 Belmont Road, Ilfracombe, Devon, EX34 8DR (01271) 863816

Provided and run by:
Belmont Care (Devon) Limited

All Inspections

21 August 2013

During a routine inspection

We brought forward this planned inspection as we had received information from a management company that the company who owns this service had gone into administration. We have been working with the management company who have experience of overseeing care homes, to ensure people at the home have ongoing quality care and support.

During this inspection we spoke with nine people who lived at the home, five staff and with one visiting relative. We also spoke with the community nurse team following the inspection. We spent time observing how staff interacted with people and how care and support was being delivered. We looked at key records including care plans, daily notes and the staff rota.

We found people were happy with the care and support provided Comments included ''You could not ask for better, the girls are all lovely.'' One visiting relative told us they had chosen the home because they had been ''impressed with the caring nature of staff and the homely and caring atmosphere within the home.'' We heard from the community nurse team that staff referred people to them promptly when nursing needs were identified and liaised well with GP's and the nursing team to keep people well.

We found care and support was well planned and staff had a good understanding of individual's needs and wishes. There were sufficient staff available for the number and needs of people at the home.

Improvements were needed to ensure the environment was safe for people and staff.

21 September 2012

During a routine inspection

We carried out an unannounced inspection to Belmont Grange on 21 February 2012, as part of our planned inspection programme. We found that some improvements were needed to make the environment safe. We also asked for some improvements to the way medication was being stored and to staff's understanding of safeguarding. We completed a further inspection on 21 August 2012 to review improvements made and as part of our annual review of services checked on other outcome groups not previously looked at.

We asked for and received an action plan which told us how the provider was going to address these areas of non compliance. We found that they had installed a separate hand washing sink in the laundry area. This helped to ensure against the risk of any cross infection. We saw that the dip in the floor near the kitchen had been repaired and the provider had purchased a new lockable fridge to store any medications that needed refrigeration.

We asked the manager about how she had made sure that staff fully understood all the processes relating to safeguarding and we were told that they had provided the policies and procedures from the home and those of the local safeguarding team for staff in their staff room for reference. Staff we spoke to told us they had received training in the protection of vulnerable people.

During this inspection we spoke with seven people who currently live at the home, who were able to make their opinions known. They were positive about the care and support they received. Comments included 'I think I have been here a long time now, they look after you very well.' 'We have a good laugh, it's alright and I am quite happy.' 'I have no complaints about the staff, they do their best and do a good job.'

Some people who live at the home have dementia and were less able to give their views of life within the home. To help us understand the experiences of people we used our SOFI (Short Observational Framework for Inspection) This tool allows us to spend time watching what is going on in a service and helps us record how people spend their time, the type of support they get and whether they have positive experiences.

We saw that care and support was delivered in a kind and respectful way. We heard from people that care was mostly provided at a time that suited them. One person said 'if they (staff) are busy, you may have to wait, but they usually come and tell you when they can get to you.'

We found that there were sufficient qualified and experienced staff to meet the needs of people at the home. The staff team had remained stable for a number of years, with care staff having a good understanding of working with frail older people. We heard for example that one person was being cared for in bed due to frailty, and had no pressure damage or red areas, despite them being cared for in bed for a long period of time.

Care and support was planned, with risk assessments in place to minimise any identified risks for people. We saw that daily records gave a good account of how people's personal, health and emotional needs were being met. Care plans had been updated to reflect any changes. The home included within the care plans, an ambulance plan for people to take with them if they needed to go by ambulance in an emergency. This gave paramedics, clear concise basic information about wishes of people, for example whether they did not wish to be resuscitated.

We saw that where people lacked capacity, best interest decisions were being documented. We have asked the home to also make clear within daily records, that consent is gained for care and treatment. We heard staff asking and checking with people about consent, but this was not always clearly recorded.

We saw that some improvements to the general d'cor and fabric of the building were ongoing within the home. Some areas were still in need of refurbishment, but the provider had ensured that it was safe and clean.

21 February 2012

During a routine inspection

We carried out an unannounced inspection to Belmont Grange on 21 February 2012, as part of our planned inspection programme. We spoke with eight people who currently live at the home and also spent some time observing how care and support was delivered throughout different times of the day. We spoke with five members of staff and had lunch with people at the home. We also looked at some key documents including care plans, medication records and risk assessments. This helped to understand how well people's care was managed.

People we spoke with, who were able to make their opinions known, were very positive about the care and support they received. Comments included 'Can't complain they are all nice. I am outspoken and will tell the truth if it's not right.' 'If I want an early rise they will see to it.' 'They are wonderful girls they can't do enough for you, they look after you very well.' 'It was a big decision to come into a home, but I needn't have worried, it's the best thing I did, the staff are all like family now to us.'

People were less positive about the menu choices, and said 'there are too few choices, not enough fresh vegetables, need more variety.' We asked the manager about how menus had been planned and was told that the catering staff had met with people living at the home and talked about what sorts of things they wanted on the menus. She said the menus had been altered accordingly. We were sent the two week cycle of menus. We saw that there was a choice of main meals, but if they included more fresh vegetable choices this would enhance the menu. We did see that fresh fruit salad was always offered, as well as another pudding/dessert. We have asked that the home consider including surveys about menu options as part of their ongoing quality monitoring.

We saw that care and support was delivered in a kind and respectful way. We heard from people that care was provided at a time that suited them. We observed staff using equipment to help people mobilise and was told that training had been provided in all areas of health and safety. Staff we spoke with during the inspection showed a good understanding of people's needs and preferred routines, showing that they provided care in a person centred way.

Care and support was planned, with risk assessments in place to minimise any identified risks for people. We saw that daily records gave a good account of how people's personal, health and emotional needs were being met. Care plans had been updated to reflect any changes. We also saw a good example of where the service had assessed someone's mental capacity and the possible need to consider an application for a deprivation of their liberty. This is a safeguard measure under the Mental Capacity Act, to ensure that people's rights are fully protected and that any decisions where someone lacks capacity are made in their best interests.

We saw that some improvements were needed to ensure that the management of medicines were fully robust to help protect people.

We also saw that whilst the registered provider was in the process of completing refurbishment, some areas needed more urgent attention to ensure that health and hygiene were fully protected.