2 February 2021
During an inspection looking at part of the service
Belle Rose Nursing Home provides accommodation, nursing care and support for up to 11 people with severe and enduring mental health conditions. There were ten people living in the home when we visited. The service is located in the centre of Dorchester and provides accommodation over two floors with a lift to access the bedrooms on the first floor. There are communal living and dining areas and a garden to the rear of the property.
People’s experience of using this service and what we found
Improvements had been made at the home following advice from the Dorset NHS Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) Quality Improvement Team. For example, equipment such as bins had been replaced to reduce cross infection risks and we saw that staff were correctly using personal protective equipment (PPE) and changed their clothes on arrival at work and before they left the building.
People were, however, put at risk due to omissions in staff practice identified during our visit. There was a lack of robust cleaning and cleaning schedules did not support effective and enhanced cleaning. Staff had not all undertaken refresher training in Infection Prevention and Control since the start of the pandemic. Health checks were not being carried out for visitors to the building and staff take up of COVID-19 testing was not being effectively supported and overseen.
People told us they were “doing fine” despite the current restrictions imposed by the pandemic. There was signage to remind them to maintain physical distance from each other. This was not easy to achieve due to both the layout of the building, and the needs of some people living in the home to maintain their environment in ways dictated by their mental health.
People were supported to keep in touch with loved ones via telephone and the internet. Outdoor and window visits were being maintained in line with government guidance.
People were supported by staff who knew where to locate guidance detailing how to keep people safe if anyone showed symptoms or tested positive for COVID-19.
People were supported by staff who were wearing appropriate PPE.
Rating at last inspection
The last rating for this service was Good. (published 6 April 2018)
Why we inspected
As part of CQC’s response to the coronavirus pandemic we are looking at the preparedness of care homes in relation to infection prevention and control. This was a targeted inspection looking at the infection control and prevention measures the provider has in place. We have found evidence that the provider needs to make improvement. Please see the Safe section of this full report.
Since our inspection visit, the provider reported that they have taken action to improve the cleaning regime, to ensure visitors are screened for symptoms of COVID-19 and to ensure the systems in place to support staff testing for COVID-19 are effective.
You can read the report from our last comprehensive inspection, by selecting the ‘all reports’ link for Belle Rose Nursing Home on our website at www.cqc.org.uk.
Enforcement
We are mindful of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on our regulatory function. This meant we took account of the exceptional circumstances arising as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic when considering what enforcement action was necessary and proportionate to keep people safe as a result of this inspection. We will continue to monitor the service and to discharge our regulatory enforcement functions required to keep people safe and to hold providers to account where it is necessary for us to do so.
We have identified a breach in relation to the safe care of people living in the home at this inspection.
Please see the action we have told the provider to take at the end of this report.
Follow up
We requested and received assurances from the provider regarding the cleaning of touch points in the home. We requested an action plan from the provider to understand what they were doing to improve the standards of quality and safety. We received updates from the provider detailing the progress they were making. We worked with local partner agencies to monitor progress and safety and were satisfied that improvements were being made. We will return to visit as per our re-inspection programme. If we receive any concerning information we may inspect sooner.