Olive House

Updated 12 January 2023

Inspection team

We carried out this inspection under Section 60 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (the Act) as part of our regulatory functions. We checked whether the provider was meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Act. We looked at the overall quality of the service and provided a rating for the service under the Health and Social Care Act 2008.

As part of this inspection we looked at the infection control and prevention measures in place. This was conducted so we can understand the preparedness of the service in preventing or managing an infection outbreak, and to identify good practice we can share with other services.

Inspection team

The inspection was carried out by two inspectors and an Expert by Experience. 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

Olive House is a care home without nursing care. People in care homes receive accommodation and nursing or personal care as a single package under one contractual agreement. The Care Quality Commission (CQC) regulates both the premises and the care provided, and we looked at both during this inspection.

Registered Manager

This provider is required to have a registered manager to oversee the delivery of regulated activities at this location. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission to manage the service. Registered managers and providers are legally responsible for how the service is run, for the quality and safety of the care provided and compliance with regulations.

At the time of our inspection there was not a registered manager in post. A new manager had been appointed and was present at our visit.

Notice of inspection

This inspection was unannounced.

What we did before the inspection

We reviewed information we had received about the service since the last inspection. We sought feedback from the local authority. We used the information the provider sent us in the provider information return. This is information providers are required to send us annually with key information about their service, what they do well, and improvements they plan to make. We used all of this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection

Inspection activity started on 15 November 2022 and ended on 22 November 2022. We visited Olive House on 15 November 2022. We toured the premises and observed care and support in communal rooms. We spoke with 3 people during the visit, 9 members of staff, including the manager, head of care and a newly appointed area manager. We examined records relating to care delivery, medicine management, staff recruitment and deployment and records relating to how the registered provider of the service monitored service delivery.

We sought feedback by email from those staff not on duty after our site visit, however no staff responded. Our expert by experience telephoned 2 people at the service to discuss their lived experience. They also spoke to 4 relatives of people supported.

Updated 12 January 2023

About the service

Olive House is a residential care home providing personal care to older people, some were living with dementia. The service can support up to 45 people and 40 people were resident when we visited. Olive House is a purpose-built single storey care home, all bedrooms had en-suite bathrooms. There is one main dining room and several lounge areas. There is access to safe outside space.

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

People were living in a purpose-built care home that was well designed for access, but was in need of upgrade. There were plans in place to address this. Cleanliness was evident with good systems in place to prevent infections. This will further be enhanced by the developments planned for the laundry.

Care planning had improved, however there was a need for consistency in care plans when reviewed. The system used required several paper sections to be updated when needs had changed. This will not be an issue once the transfer to electronic recording is complete.

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 were happy at Olive House and felt well cared for. People received prescribed medication safely. There were sufficient, suitably recruited staff that knew people well.

A new manager had recently been appointed. There were effective systems in place to monitor, respond and drive improvements within Olive House. People were involved and listened to.

For more information, please read the detailed findings section of this report. If you are reading this as a separate summary, the full report can be found on the Care Quality Commission (CQC) website at www.cqc.org.uk

Rating at last inspection and update

The last rating for this service was requires improvement. [Published 19 November 2019]

At our last inspection we found breaches of the regulations in relation to people having unmet needs from staff, infection prevention and control and management oversight. The provider completed an action plan after the last inspection to tell us what they would do and by when to improve.

At this inspection we found improvements had been made and the provider was now meeting this regulation.

Why we inspected

We carried out this inspection to follow up on action we told the provider to take at the last inspection.

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.

Follow up

We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service, which will help inform when we next inspect.