The Care Quality Commission

Archived: Northcott House Nursing & Residential Care Home

Northcott House Residential Care & Nursing Home, Bury Hall Lane, Gosport, Hampshire, PO12 2PP (023) 9231 0003

Provided and run by:
God's Port Housing Society Limited

All Inspections

25 April 2012

During an inspection looking at part of the service

People told us they were happy living at the home. They were able to express their views and wishes and the manager, who was 'the best', would always respond to their views and wishes. They told us that their wishes about how they received their care and support were considered by staff at the home. People commented that the home arranges for them to see health care professionals such as General Practitioners (GP's) when they needed to.

We were told about how they were able to choose whether to join in with group activities and those people that did join in with these activities spoke about how much they enjoyed them. Other people chose to occupy themselves in their private rooms doing activities such a listening to music, watching their television or reading books.

People told us there was always staff available to provide support and respond to call bells promptly. They told us they had confidence that staff had the necessary skills to provide the care and support they needed.

For some people living at the home, because of their level of dementia they were unable to directly communicate their needs and views. Because of this we used the Short Observational Framework for Inspection (SOFI) in one of the lounge areas. SOFI is a specific way of observing care to help us understand the experience of people who could not talk with us. Our SOFI observation showed that staff were aware about how different people expressed their decisions. This meant that people who were unable to communicate directly were still able to express their choices and staff would respond to their choices.

It was evident in the actions of staff members that they knew the interests of people who were unable to communicate directly. People were responding positively to music being played in the lounge: tapping their feet in rhythm to the music and whistling along with the music.

2 November 2011

During a routine inspection

People told us they were happy living at the home. Staff worked hard to give them the support and care they needed. They commented that the home arranges for them to see health care professionals such as General Practitioners (GP's) when they need to. Some people expressed their involvement in making choices about their health care. However there was a lack of evidence to indicate people are involved in the development of their care plans which meant their preferred choices are not always known.

Some people told us they were able to express their views and wishes about the running of the home in arranged meetings. They told us they enjoyed the meals provided at the home. There was always a choice of menu at meal times.

There were some arranged social activities for people to take part in. However several people said there was not enough to do at the home and life could be boring. It was not evident that consideration had been given to the social stimulation of people who had advanced dementia type illnesses. We observed that for some people the only stimulation was when care staff were assisting them with care.