Background to this inspection
Updated
25 December 2019
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 Care Act 2014.
Inspection team
The inspection was completed by two inspectors.
Service and service type
Downside House is a ‘care home’. People in care homes receive accommodation and nursing or personal care as single package under one contractual agreement. CQC regulates both the premises and the care provided, and both were looked at during this inspection.
The service did not have a manager registered with the Care Quality Commission at the time of the inspection. At this inspection there was a manager in place who had taken over the overall running of the service in June 2019, with support from the provider. The manager had commenced the registration process with the Care Quality Commission (CQC).
Notice of inspection
This inspection was unannounced.
What we did before the inspection
Before the inspection we reviewed the information we had received about the service, including previous inspection reports and notifications. Notifications are information about specific important events the service is legally required to send to us. We used all of this information to plan our inspection.
The provider was not asked to complete a provider information return prior to this inspection. This is information we require providers to send us to give some key information about the service, what the service does well and improvements they plan to make. We took this into account when we inspected the service and made the judgements in this report.
During the inspection
We spoke with seven people who used the service about their experience of the care provided, four relatives and three healthcare professionals. We spoke with 12 members of staff including, two directors of the providers company, the manager, two chefs and seven members of care staff. We observed the care being provided and reviewed a range of records, including five people's care records and multiple medication records. We looked at staff files in relation to recruitment and a variety of records relating to the management of the service, including policies and procedures were reviewed.
After the inspection
We continued to seek clarification from the provider to validate evidence found. We reviewed quality assurance records and additional supporting information provided by the management team.
Updated
25 December 2019
About the service
Downside House provides accommodation and personal care for up to 21 people, including people living with dementia care needs. At the time of our inspection there were 21 people living in the home.
People’s experience of using this service and what we found
People were happy living at Downside House and told us they felt safe.
Recruitment practices were safe and there were sufficient numbers of staff available to meet people’s needs. People were protected from avoidable harm, and infection control risks were managed appropriately.
Systems were in place to monitor incidents, accidents and near misses. There were clear processes in place to monitor risks to people which helped to ensure they received effective care to maintain their safety and wellbeing.
There were suitable systems in place to ensure that medicines were securely stored, ordered and disposed of safely and people received their medicines as prescribed.
Staff training had not always been updated in a timely way, however plans were in place to address this. Staff received regular supervision to help develop their skills and support them in their role.
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 were supported to access health and social care professionals if needed, received enough to eat and drink and were happy with the food provided.
People were supported by staff who were kind, compassionate and caring and who understood their likes, dislikes and preferences. People had detailed and accurate care plans in place which were person centred. People told us that they were provided with person centred care and fully involved in planning their care and the support they received.
People, relatives and staff were positive about the running of the service and the support they received from the management team and providers. People and staff felt there had been improvements in all aspects of the service since the last inspection.
The management team were open and transparent. They understood their regulatory responsibilities. People and their relatives said the management team were open, approachable and supportive. There were effective governance systems in place to identify concerns in the service and drive 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 21 December 2018) and there were three breaches of regulation. 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 improvements had been made and the provider was no longer in breach of regulations.
Why we inspected
This was a planned inspection based on the previous rating.
Follow up
There is no required follow up to this inspection. We will continue to monitor all information received about the service to understand any risks that may arise and to ensure the next inspection is scheduled accordingly.