Archived: Andover Nursing Home

There was a registered manager in post. 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.

The feedback we received from people was positive throughout. Those people who used the service expressed great satisfaction and spoke highly of all staff and services provided. One relative told us, “The home is simply fantastic. It’s so friendly with a lovely atmosphere. I always look forward to visiting, from the pleasant greetings at reception and onwards. I cannot speak highly enough”.

Staff involved in the inspection demonstrated a genuine passion for the roles they performed and their individual responsibilities. Visions and plans for the future were understood and shared across the staff team. They embraced new initiatives with the support of the registered manager and colleagues. They continued to look at the needs of people who used the service and ways to make positive changes.

People experienced a lifestyle that met their individual expectations, capacity and preferences. There was a strong sense of empowering people wherever possible and, providing an environment where independence would be encouraged and celebrated. People’s health and well-being were paramount. One relative told us, “I think the attention my husband receives and the happiness here has allowed him to defy dying. We are having quality time together; it couldn’t get any better than that”.

The registered manager listened to people and staff to ensure there were enough staff to meet people's needs. They demonstrated their responsibilities in recognising changing circumstances within the service, and used a risk based approach to help ensure that staffing levels and skill mix was effective.

The safety of people who used the service was taken seriously. The registered manager and staff were aware of their responsibility to protect people’s health and wellbeing. There were systems in place to ensure that risks to people’s safety and wellbeing were identified and addressed. Staff were very highly motivated and proud of the service. They were fully supported by the registered manager and a programme of training and supervision enabled them to provide a high quality service to people.

The registered manager ensured that staff had a full understanding of people’s care needs and had the skills and knowledge to meet them. People received consistent support from staff who knew them well. People had positive relationships with staff and were confident in the service. There was a strong emphasis on key principles of care such as compassion, respect and dignity and promoting independence. People who used the service felt they were treated with kindness and said their privacy and dignity was always respected.

People received a service that was based on their personal needs and wishes. Changes in people’s needs were quickly identified and responded to. The service was flexible and responded very positively to people’s requests. People who used the service felt able to make requests and express their opinions and views.

The provider and registered manager were totally committed to continuous improvement. The registered manager and staff demonstrated strong values and, a desire to learn about and implement best practice throughout the service.

The registered manager demonstrated a good understanding of the importance of effective quality assurance systems. There were processes in place to monitor quality and understand the experiences of people who used the service.

Relatives told us they considered the staff provided exceptional care. They said the home was well organised but was also homely. We were told they had every confidence in the manager that if something was not right, the issue would be resolved quickly and to their satisfaction. People we spoke with said they were extremely happy with the care and support they received.

We observed staff providing care and support and found that they were respectful and did not rush people ensuring people's dignity and privacy were maintained. Staff told us they loved providing care and support for people and the staff worked extremely well together.

People's records were reviewed on a regular and systematic basis and the results of regular audits were shared with staff in order to continually improve care and support. Incidents and accidents were monitored and as a result the provider was able to continually assess the quality of care at the Andover Nursing Home.

The Inspection team was joined by an Expert by Experience (people who have experience of using services and can provide perspective).

People told us they 'felt safe 'living at Andover Nursing Home.

We observed that people's rooms were well equipped, we were told by one person 'I was allowed to bring some of my furniture and other bits from my own home and as you can see, it has made a difference to my living space and this makes me happy.'

Staff told us they felt very well supported in relation to their learning and development and we saw records to support this. One member of the nursing staff commented on the training and professionalism of the care staff. 'The carers are amazing; if you have good carers it makes the nurses' job much easier.'

We found that there was an effective complaints system available, so comments and complaints people made were responded to appropriately.