Springfield Nursing and Residential Care Home

Updated 20 August 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

Two inspectors carried out this inspection.

Service and service type

Springfield Nursing and Residential Care Home 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

This inspection was unannounced.

What we did before the inspection

We reviewed information we had received about the service since the last inspection. We used the information the provider sent us in the provider information return. This is information providers are required to send us with key information about their service, what they do well, and improvements they plan to make. This information helps support our inspections. We used all of this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection

We spoke with two people who used the service about their experience of the care provided. We spoke with five members of staff including the provider, registered manager, senior care worker and care workers.

We reviewed a range of records. This included multiple care records and medication records. We looked at five staff files in relation to recruitment and staff supervision. A variety of records relating to the management of the service, including policies and procedures were reviewed.

After the inspection

We continued to seek clarification from the provider to validate evidence found. We received feedback from eight relatives about leadership and the quality of care provided. We spoke to the registered manager to obtain additional information in relation to quality assurance, staff support and risk management. We looked at training data and quality assurance records.

Updated 20 August 2021

About the service

Springfield Nursing and Residential Home is a care home providing personal and nursing care to 42 people aged 65 and over at the time of the inspection. The service can accommodate up to 65 people across two buildings. One building provides residential support and the other building provides nursing support.

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

People and their relatives told us that they felt safe and happy with the provider. There were appropriate policies and systems in place to protect people from abuse. We saw clear records relating to the management of safeguarding incidents. Environmental risks were assessed, monitored and reviewed regularly and equipment was maintained to help ensure people were kept safe. A process was in place to review accidents and incidents on a regular basis. Any trends or lessons to be learned were discussed with staff.

There were sufficient staff deployed to meet people’s needs. Safe recruitment procedures were mostly followed. We have made a recommendation about the providers quality assurance process in relation to recruitment. Medicines were administered in line with people's preferences by staff who knew people well and systems were mostly in place to ensure people's medicines were managed safely.

We were somewhat assured that the provider was promoting safety through the layout and hygiene practices of the premises. However, the provider took prompt action to address the concerns during the inspection. We were assured that the provider was preventing visitors from catching and spreading infections. We were assured the provider was facilitating visits for people living in the home in accordance with the current guidance.

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. Staff asked for people's agreement before supporting them with personal care and other tasks. The policies and systems in the service supported this practice.

People's needs were assessed, regularly reviewed and included their physical, mental health and social needs. People's individual needs were met by the adaptation and design of the service. The layout of the home was suitable for people's needs. The provider was in the process of incorporating a dementia friendly environment within the décor of the home. People and their relatives felt staff were well trained.

People told us they enjoyed the food and we observed people being supported with regular fluid and nutrition throughout the inspection. Drinks and snacks were readily available to people at any time and we observed people’s comfort being checked consistently throughout the inspection.

People and their relatives were positive about the home and felt it was well managed. The registered manager promoted an inclusive, positive and open culture. The provider and registered manager had systems to gather the views of people, their relatives and staff. The provider had developed close links with external agencies, and we saw evidence of successful partnership working.

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

Rating at last inspection and update

The last rating for this service was requires improvement (published 25 May 2019) and there were multiple breaches of regulation. The provider completed an action plan after the last inspection to show what they would do and by when to improve. At this inspection we found improvements had been made and the provider was no longer in breach of regulations.

Why we inspected

We carried out an unannounced comprehensive inspection of this service on 20 and 21 March 2019. Breaches of legal requirements were found. The provider completed an action plan after the last inspection to show what they would do and by when to improve consent to care and treatment, good governance and notifications of other incidents.

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, Effective and Well-led which contain those requirements.

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.

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.

You can read the report from our last comprehensive inspection, by selecting the ‘all reports’ link for Springfield Nursing and Residential Care Home on our website at www.cqc.org.uk.

Follow up

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