Archived: Norlington Nursing Home

Norlington Nursing home is a nursing and care home and is registered to provide accommodation for up to 30 people. At the time of this inspection 10 people were living or staying Norlington Nursing Home.

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

There was a calm, welcoming and friendly atmosphere at Norlington Nursing Home. Staff knew people well and were attentive to their needs. Potential risks to people’s health and welfare and the premises had been assessed and regularly reviewed.

People told us they felt safe living at Norlington Nursing home and staff talked knowledgably about the system for reporting any potential signs of abuse.

Staffing levels were maintained at the correct level to ensure people were cared for safely whilst maintaining and promoting their independence and wellbeing. Staff told us they enjoyed working at the home and felt well supported at all times. One member of staff said, “I feel safe and happy to work here.”

People’s medicines were managed safely, stored securely and administered by trained staff. People received assistance to take their medicines as prescribed.

People, staff and visitors to Norlington Nursing Home were protected from risks of infection as policies and staff practices were reflective of current best practice guidance. Staff had access to personal protective equipment (PPE), and the home was active in carrying out whole home testing in response to the coronavirus health risk.

There was an effective governance system in place. There were a variety of audits, policies, spot checks, systems and procedures to monitor the quality and safety of the service. These ensured a culture of continuous improvement and learning took place and highlighted any potential shortfalls to improve the safety and quality of care people received.

Staff felt well supported and spoke highly of the registered manager and management team. Staff were passionate, committed and motivated to delivering quality person-centred care to people.

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 good (published December 2018).

Why we inspected

This was a planned inspection based on the previous rating. We reviewed the information we held about the service. No areas of concern were identified in the other key questions. We therefore did not inspect them. Ratings from previous comprehensive inspections for those key questions were used in calculating the overall rating 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.

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.

Norlington Nursing Home is registered to provide nursing and personal care with accommodation for up to 37 people, although the home only usually accommodates up to 29 people as some rooms are for double occupancy. At the time of our inspection it accommodated 25 older people in one adapted building in a residential area of Bournemouth.

At our last inspection we rated the service Good. At this inspection we found the evidence continued to support the rating of Good and there was no evidence or information from our inspection and ongoing monitoring that demonstrated serious risks or concerns. This inspection report is written in a shorter format because our overall rating of the service has not changed since our last inspection.

At this inspection we found the service remained Good.

People were supported by staff who understood the risks they faced and how to support them to reduce these whilst promoting independence and dignity. Staff understood how to identify and report abuse.

People were supported to take their medicines safely.

People all liked the food and there were systems in place to ensure they ate and drank safely.

People were supported by skilled and caring staff, the majority of whom at worked in the home for a long time. Staff described Norlington Nursing Home as people’s home. Communication styles and methods were considered and staff supported people to understand the choices available to them.

Staff supported people in the least restrictive way possible. The systems in the service supported this.

People had access to a range of activities and there was work being done to develop the meaningful personalised activity available to people.

People and relatives told us they could raise any concerns and these were addressed appropriately. They told us that the registered manager and the whole staff team were approachable.

Quality assurance systems involved people and supported the provision of a safe and service. Some recording and monitoring was not effective; the registered manager and senior staff made changes to these systems immediately.

Norlington Nursing Home provides accommodation, care and support for up to 37 older people. At the time of the inspection there were 28 people living at the home. Norlington Nursing Home had a registered manager. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission to manage the service. Like registered providers, they are ‘registered persons’. Registered persons have legal responsibility for meeting the requirements in the Health and Social Care Act 2008 and associated Regulations about how the service is run.

People told us they liked living at the home, comments from people included, “I’m very happy with the staff and care” and, “The staff are always friendly and respectful”. People told us they felt safe at the home. Staff knew how to prevent, identify and report abuse and the provider had a system in place to protect people from the risk of harm.

People’s needs were assessed including areas of risk, and reviewed to ensure peoples’ safety. Support was offered in accordance with people’s wishes and their privacy was protected. Staff knew people well, understood their physical and personal care needs and treated them with dignity and respect. People and their relatives were involved in assessing and planning the care and support they received.

People received their prescribed medicine when they needed it and appropriate arrangements were in place for the storage and disposal of medicines.

There was a system in place to ensure people were cared for, or supported by, sufficient numbers of suitably qualified and experienced staff. Robust recruitment and selection procedures were in place. Staff were knowledgeable about their role and spoke positively regarding the induction and training they received.

The manager was aware of their responsibilities in regard to the Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS). These safeguards aim to protect people living in care homes and hospitals from being inappropriately deprived of their liberty. People were supported to make decisions and where people did not have the capacity; decisions were made in their best interest.

There was a system in place for people to raise concerns and complaints. People knew how to make a complaint and felt confident they would be listened to if they needed to raise concerns or queries.

People told us they felt the service was well led, with a clear, supportive management structure in place.

There were systems in place to monitor and improve the quality of the service provided.

We spoke with two people who use the service, two relatives, three members of staff, the manager and the providers during our visit. Everyone we spoke with were very complimentary about the home.

Before people received any care or treatment they were asked their consent and the provider acted in accordance with their wishes. We spoke with two people who lived at Norlington Nursing Home. Both said that they were consulted about their care and treatment.

We saw that people experienced safe and effective care based on detailed care plans and risk assessments that met individual needs.

People said that the home was always very clean and there were effective systems in place, which staff adhered to, to reduce the risk of spread of infection.

We found that staff received ongoing training and supervision that provided them with the skills to meet the needs of the people they were caring for.

We found that the provider had an effective system complaints process in place. We found that complaints were investigated and resolved promptly.

Throughout our visit we observed care workers interacting politely and respectfully with the people they were supporting.

Care and treatment was planned and delivered in a way that ensured people's welfare. We saw care plans were based on assessments that had been carried out to identify what help people needed and any potential risks to their welfare.

People who use the service were protected from the risk of abuse, because the provider had taken reasonable steps to identify the possibility of abuse and prevent abuse from happening.

Since the last inspection in February 2012, we were able to see where the provider had refurbished some areas of the home. The provider provided us with a timescale for completing other important environmental works.

Effective recruitment and selection processes were in place which ensured people were cared for by suitably qualified, skilled and experienced staff.

We found the provider had effective systems of monitoring and auditing the quality of service provided.