Grace Manor Care Centre

Updated 5 July 2023

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

The inspection was carried out by 3 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

Grace Manor Care Centre 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. Grace Manor Care Centre is a care home with 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 a registered manager in post.

Notice of inspection

This inspection was unannounced. Inspection activity started on 17 May 2023 and ended on 25 May 2023. We visited the service on 17 May 2023.

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 and professionals who work with the service. We used the information the provider sent us in the provider information return (PIR). 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 this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection

We spoke with 3 people who lived in the service and 6 relatives. We observed part of the lunchtime meal and a planned afternoon activity. We talked with 11 members of staff including the registered manager, deputy manager, 2 nurses, a team leader, 4 care staff, an activity coordinator and the operations manager. We also gained feedback from 5 health care professionals, 2 social care professionals and a faith leader.

We reviewed a range of records. This included 8 people’s care records and a sample of medicines records. We looked at 3 staff files in relation to recruitment and staff training. A variety of records relating to the management and safety of the service were reviewed including accidents and incidents and quality checks and audits.

Updated 5 July 2023

About the service

Grace Manor Care Centre is a residential care home providing personal and nursing care for up to 60 people. There were 57 rooms of which 3 could accommodate couples or people who chose to share. The service was registered to provide care for people with dementia, physical disability, mental health issues, drug or alcohol misuse, and a learning disability or autistic spectrum disorder. At the time of the inspection there were 55 people living at the service.

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

We expect health and social care providers to guarantee people with a learning disability and autistic people respect, equality, dignity, choices and independence and good access to local communities that most people take for granted. ‘Right support, right care, right culture’ is the guidance CQC follows to make assessments and judgements about services supporting people with a learning disability and autistic people and providers must have regard to it.

Right Support: 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. Staff supported people to make decisions following best practice in decision-making. Advocates were activity sought to help people express their needs and wishes and to weigh up and make decisions about the options available to them.

Staff enabled people to access specialist health and social care support in the community. There had been improvements in the services communication with health and social care professionals which had a positive impact on people’s care. Staff demonstrated they knew how to support people’s individual health and medical needs. This guidance was available to staff to ensure people’s needs were consistently met. Medicines management had been improved so people could be assured they received their medicines when they were needed.

Staff supported people to take part in group and one to one activities that included their interests. The service had received a compliment from a relative about the activities provided. ‘What I also like about Grace Manor is the activities they do on a daily basis with the residents to keep them active in the best way possible’.

The service gave people care and support in a safe, clean, well equipped, well-furnished and well-maintained environment. People were able to personalise their rooms.

Right Care: Staff understood how to protect people from poor care and abuse. The service worked well with other agencies to do so. Staff had training on how to recognise and report abuse and they knew how to apply it.

Improvements had been made to assessing potential risks to people and providing guidance to staff to ensure these risks were minimised. Changes continued to be made to people’s care, treatment and support plans to ensure they reflected their range of needs.

The service had enough appropriately skilled staff to meet people’s needs and keep them safe. Staffing levels were kept under review. People were supported by staff who had been trained in how to care for them.

Right Culture: There had been significant changes to the culture of the service driven by the registered manager. As a result, people benefitted from an open and positive culture service where the management team was approachable and listened and responded to people’s views.

People and those important to them, including advocates, were now fully involved in planning their care. Staff knew and understood people well.

Quality assurance and monitoring systems had improved and were effective in identifying shortfalls and driving through positive changes. People and their relatives’ views were regularly sought and acted on.

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 30 August 2022). There were 2 breaches of regulation with regards to assessing potential risks, medicines management and oversight of the service. 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

The inspection was prompted in part due to concerns received about moving and handling practices and contacting health care services in a timely manner. A decision was made for us to inspect and examine those risks in addition to looking at the 2 breaches of regulation.

Follow up

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