Housman Care Ltd

Housman Care is a purpose built residential care home providing accommodation for older adults who require nursing or personal care for up to 30 people. At the time of our inspection there were 26 people using the service. The service provides support to older people who may also be living with dementia.

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

People were not always treated with dignity and respect. People’s personal care was not always delivered in line with their assessed needs.

People did not always receive personalised care. For example, where a person had expressed feeling unwell, action had not been taken in a timely manner to address the persons concerns.

Whilst some improvements had been made to the way the service was managed, systems needed to become established and embedded in the service.

Systems were not always effective in assessing and managing risk or monitoring the quality of people’s care. Assessments and care plans were detailed, however care records were not always reflective of the care that people received.

Medicines were stored safely, some improvement was needed to how they monitored some medicines.

There were systems to safeguard people from abuse and staff understood their responsibilities to keep people safe.

Feedback from people and relatives was positive, one person told us, “They are nice to me here.” A relative said, “They are wonderful here you could not wish for a better place.”

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.

For more details, please see the full report which is on the CQC website at www.cqc.org.uk

Rating at last inspection and update

The last rating for this service was requires improvement (published 11 May 2023).

The provider completed an action plan after the last inspection to show what they would do and by when to improve.

At this inspection we found some improvements had been made and the provider was no longer in breach of regulation 12 (safe care) but were in breach of regulation 10 (dignity and respect) and regulation 17 (governance).

Why we inspected

The inspection was prompted in part due to concerns received about medicines, management and staffing. A decision was made for us to inspect and examine those risks.

You can see what action we have asked the provider to take at the end of this full report.

Following the inspection visit the provider has taken steps to address the reduce the risks identified during the inspection.

You can read the report from our last comprehensive inspection, by selecting the ‘all reports’ link for Housman on our website at www.cqc.org.uk.

Recommendations

We have identified breaches in relation to dignity and respect and governance at this inspection.

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.

Housman Care is a purpose built residential care home providing accommodation for older adults who require nursing or personal care for up to 30 people. At the time of our inspection there were 27 people using the service. The service provides support to older people who may also be living with dementia.

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

People did not always have risks to their health and welfare effectively managed. Care plans and risk assessments did not always reflect guidance and advice from professionals.

Audits were not always effective in identifying where actions were needed to improve the assessment and monitoring of risks and did not effectively monitor the outcomes for people.

There were systems in place to identify any potential signs that people were unsafe or at risk of avoidable harm. However, these systems did not always effectively identify where people had changes to their health in a timely manner. Staff understood their responsibilities to keep people safe.

There were comprehensive systems to ensure medicines were administered safely.

People were protected from the risks of COVID-19 by effective infection control procedures. Staff had training in relation to COVID-19 and had access to sufficient supplies of personal protective equipment (PPE). The registered manager and provider ensured that staff were kept up to date with infection control procedures that reflected current government guidance.

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 told us they felt safe and were happy with the care they received.

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 1 March 2022 and this is the first inspection.

The last rating for the service under the previous provider was good, published on 23 January 2019.

Why we inspected

We received concerns in relation to the management of people’s care needs. As a result, we undertook a focused inspection to review the key questions of safe and well-led only.

We looked at infection prevention and control measures under the Safe key question. We look at this in all care home inspections even if no concerns or risks have been identified. This is to provide assurance that the service can respond to COVID-19 and other infection outbreaks effectively.

You can see what action we have asked the provider to take at the end of this full report.

Enforcement and Recommendations

We have identified breaches in relation to safe care and governance and management oversight at this inspection.

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.