Downham Grange

Updated 24 April 2025

Date of Assessment: 08 May 2025 to 11 June 2025. This is a service providing residential and nursing support to adults of all ages and some people living with dementia and can accommodate up to 63 people. We carried out a comprehensive inspection due to inherent risk. At the time of the inspection, there were 38 people living in the service. We gained feedback from 1 person and 8 relatives, 9 staff and 5 healthcare professionals that supported people, that lived in the service.

We found that peoples medicines were not always well managed, and not all staff were fully trained to meet people’s individual needs. There were inconsistencies in peoples care records and we identified shortfalls in the governance oversight and the systems in place. The provider was in breach of the legal regulations relating to safe care and treatment, safe and effective staffing and good governance.

However, people lived in a purpose-built home that was clean and environmentally safe. They were actively involved with the community and there were a range of activities for people to participate in or they were supported to carry out their own daily activities. A variety of nutritious meals and snacks were provided daily.

We received positive feedback from 1 person living in the service, relatives and healthcare professionals that visited the service about the staff and management being kind and caring and this aligned with our findings from being in the service. The provider was proactive throughout the inspection in addressing the shortfalls we had identified.

This service has been in special measures since June 2023. The provider demonstrated improvements had been made in most areas. The service is no longer rated as inadequate overall or in any of the key questions. Therefore, this service is no longer in special measures.

Updated 24 April 2025

Throughout our inspection we gained feedback from 1 person living in Downham Grange. We were unable to speak to more people due to their capacity and other people were unavailable as they were joining in on VE day celebrations. We spoke with health care professionals that visited the service. We had support from an expert by experience (ExE) who gained feedback from people’s relatives. An ExE is someone who has had personal experience of using or caring for someone who uses health and social care services. While relatives expressed general satisfaction with their care and treatment, our inspection found some elements of care did not meet the expected standards.

We received a mixed response on the staffing levels within the service. Some relatives felt the service could do with more staff and especially on a weekend, they could not always locate staff. However, 1 person we spoke with said “I don't have to wait for long, particularly at night, I press the buzzer, and it is like they are outside. They come in straight away.”

Everyone we spoke with said they felt safe in the environment and it was clean and maintained on a daily basis. They were involved in discussions around their care and treatment needs on a regular basis. They felt everyone was treated fairly with dignity and respect. Management held regular meetings so people were kept up to date with what was going on in the service and they were asked frequently for their feedback. Relatives noted how the service had improved, and 1 person said, “I am very happy with what they do now, a few years ago it was much different, but now I cannot fault them”.