Eckling Grange

Updated 2 March 2019

The inspection: We carried out this inspection under Section 60 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 as part of our regulatory functions. This inspection checked whether the provider is meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Health and Social Care Act 2008, to look at the overall quality of the service, and to provide a rating for the service under the Care Act 2014.

Inspection team: Four inspectors, including a member of the CQC medicines team and an expert by experience carried out this inspection. An expert by experience is a person who has personal experience of using or caring for someone who uses this type of care service.

Service and service type: Eckling Grange is a care home and domiciliary care service. People in care homes receive accommodation and nursing or personal care. CQC regulates both the premises and the care provided, and both were looked at during this inspection. Eckling Grange also provides personal care to a small number of people who live on the same site in supported living accommodation. The service had an established registered manager. The service is required to have 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. Inspection site visit activity took place on Tuesday 22 January 2019.

What we did:

• We reviewed information we had received about the service since the last inspection. This included details about incidents the provider must notify us about and we sought feedback from the local authority and professionals who work with the service. We assessed the information we require providers to send us at least once annually to give some key information about the service. We used all this information to plan our inspection.

• We spoke with four people who used the service and three relatives

• We also spoke with eight members of staff including managers and carers.

• We conducted observations of how people received their care in communal areas of the service. We used the Short Observational Framework for Inspection (SOFI) during our visit. SOFI is a way of observing care to help us understand the experience of people who could not talk with us.

• We looked at records in relation to people who used the service.

• We also looked records relating to the management of the service, recruitment, policies and systems for monitoring quality.

Updated 2 March 2019

About the service: Eckling Grange is a residential care home and domiciliary care service that was providing personal care accommodation to 58 people aged 65 and over in the care home at the time of the inspection. Some people were living with dementia. Two people living on site in sheltered accommodation received personal care from the domically care service.

People’s experience of using this service: Improvements had been made to the service following our previous inspection in November 2017 to address concerns and breaches of Regulations of the Health and Social Care Act 2008. The risks to the quality and safety of the service were identified and acted on. There was enough staff on duty to enable people to remain safe and receive care in a timely way. The environment was safe and people had access to appropriate equipment where needed. Peoples were supported to take their medicines safely.

Staff had received appropriate training and support to enable them to carry out their role safely. People’s health was well managed and staff had positive links with healthcare professionals which promoted wellbeing for them. Staff sought peoples consent before providing them with care and worked within the guidelines of the Mental Capacity Act 2005.

Staff were kind and caring and promoted people’s dignity. Staff understood the importance of treating people with respect and ensured they did this. People had very good relationships with staff and told us staff went the extra mile to ensure their needs were met. Staff actively ensured people maintained links with their friends and family and with the wider community.

Peoples records clearly identified support needs and preferences. Staff provided effective care for people which met their needs through person-centred care planning. This enabled people to achieve positive outcomes and promoted a good quality of life. Records accurately reflected the care that people had received. Peoples spiritual and religious needs were a cornerstone of the services provision. People actively participated in a range of enrichment activities that included members of the local and wider community. Complaints were managed in line with the providers stated procedure.

Information from audits, incidents and quality checks was used to drive continuous improvements to the service people received. Staff were motivated and enjoyed strong team work. The management team worked closely together under the strong leadership of the registered manager and general manager. People and their relatives told us that they were visible, open and approachable.

More information is in the full report

Rating at last inspection: Requires improvement (report published December 2017).

Why we inspected: This was a scheduled inspection based on our previous rating. The service has improved its rating to good in all key questions.

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