Colne House

Updated 30 April 2022

The inspection

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

This inspection was carried out by one inspector.

Service and service type

Colne House is a ‘care home’. People in care homes receive accommodation and nursing and/or personal care as a single package under one contractual agreement dependent on their registration with us. Colne House is a care home without nursing care. CQC regulates both the premises and the care provided, and both were looked at during this inspection.

Registered Manager

This service is required to have a registered manager. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission to manage the service. This means that they and the provider are legally responsible for how the service is run and for the quality and safety of the care provided.

At the time of our inspection there was not a registered manager in post, as they had retired on 18 January 2022. The deputy manager, who has worked in the service for 10 years, had been promoted to manager and had just put in their application with the Commission to be registered.

Notice of inspection

The inspection activity started on 5 April 2022 with an unannounced visit to the service, and finished on the 12 April 2022, when we gave feedback to the Manager.

What we did before inspection

We reviewed the provider’s action plan and information we had received about the service since the last inspection and sought feedback from the local authority. We used all this information to plan our inspection. The provider was not asked to complete a Provider Information Return (PIR) prior to this inspection. A PIR is information providers send us to give some key information about the service, what the service does well and improvements they plan to make.

During the inspection

We spoke with seven members of staff, including the manager, operations manager, administrator, domestic and care staff. We gained feedback from five people living in the service, and observed staff interaction, as they supported people during the day.

We reviewed a range of records. This included two people’s care records, medicine records and two staff’s recruitment and training records. We also reviewed records relating to the quality assurance of the service, including audits, survey feedback and minutes of meetings.

Updated 30 April 2022

About the service

Colne House is a residential care home providing personal care and accommodation for up to 38 older people, some of whom may have mental health needs and or may be living with dementia. The premises is set in extensive grounds is made up of one large adapted building, and an annex which accommodated five people. At the time of our inspection 30 people were living in the service.

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

There was a homely atmosphere, and people told us they were happy with the support provided and liked the staff. One person told us, “All the staff got a general sense of humour…can have a laugh and a joke and affection.” Another described the staff as, “Very nice,” and smiled as staff approached them.

Staff supported people to keep well and safe, and ensure they received their medicines as prescribed. One person told us, “If you’re not well they will get you into hospital.”

Improved infection control and risk management systems were in place to support people to live in a clean, safe environment. People told us they were supported in a clean environment. One person told us, “My room is spotless, it’s always fine.”

Risks were assessed and preventative action taken to reduce any risks of harm. We have made a recommendation about including the risk, where people used flammable skin creams in their fire risk assessments.

Staff were recruited safely to ensure they were able to work with vulnerable people. The management kept staffing levels under review to ensure there were enough to meet people’s needs.

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 and staff had confidence in the newly promoted manager, who they knew well.

The provider had systems in place to check on the safety and quality of the service people received and act on the information to drive continuous improvement.

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 15 April 2021). At that inspection, breaches of legal requirements were found in safe care and treatment and good governance. Following the inspection, the provider completed an action plan to show what they would do and by when to improve. At this inspection we found improvements had been made and the provider was no longer in breach of regulations

Why we inspected

This inspection was prompted by a review of the information we held about this service.

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.

We undertook this focused inspection to check they had followed their action plan and to confirm they now met legal requirements. This report only covers our findings in relation to the Key Questions Safe and Well-led which contain those requirements.

For those key questions not inspected, we used the ratings awarded at the last inspection to calculate the overall rating. The overall rating for the service has changed from requires improvement to good. This is based on the findings at this inspection.

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

Follow up

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