Longbridge Deverill House and Nursing Home

Longbridge Deverill House and Nursing Home is a care home providing accommodation and nursing care for up to 80 people. The service provides support to people who are living with dementia. At the start of the inspection, people were living in both the main nursing home and in the house. By the end of the inspection the provider had completed the planned closure of the house and people had either moved to the nursing home or a different service.

At the time of our inspection there were 55 people using the service.

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

The provider’s systems of management oversight were not always effective and had not ensured they met their regulatory requirements. The systems in place had not ensured the provider always notified CQC of significant events; made improvements to the cleanliness of the building; completed actions from a fire risk assessment within the required timescale; or ensured staff kept an accurate record of the care they provided to people.

There were usually enough staff to meet people’s needs. However, the service was reliant on temporary staff, which affected the consistency of support people received. Some people reported delays in receiving care and some relatives were concerned about the availability of staff at times. We made a recommendation that the provider reviews they way staff are deployed to ensure it is effective.

The service did not have a registered manager in post and there had been inconsistent management of the service over the previous six months.

People told us they felt safe at the service and staff had a good understanding of safeguarding procedures in place. Records demonstrated the management team had worked with the local authority safeguarding team where necessary.

Infection prevention and control procedures had been reviewed and updated to reflect the COVID-19 pandemic. Systems were in place to prevent visitors catching and spreading infections.

Staff demonstrated a good understanding of people’s individual needs and a commitment to provide person-centred care. Staff worked with health and social care specialists where needed to develop plans to support people. People were supported to see their doctor and other health professionals when needed.

The service had worked with Wiltshire Health and Care on a project to provide virtual consultant-led clinical support for people in care homes. This work had helped to improve people’s wellbeing and quality of life and prevent avoidable hospital admissions.

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; the policies and systems in the service supported this practice.

People were treated with kindness and people were positive about staff’s caring attitude. We observed staff interacting with people in a kind and respectful way.

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 2 November 2021 and this is the first inspection.

Why we inspected

This inspection was prompted by a review of the information we held about this service.

Enforcement and Recommendations

We have identified a breach of regulations in relation to good governance at this inspection. We have also made recommendations about staff deployment.

Please see the action we have told the provider to take at the end of this report.

Follow up

We will request an action plan from the provider to understand what they will do to improve the standards of quality and safety. We will work alongside the provider and local authority to monitor progress. We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service, which will help inform when we next inspect.