Springkell House Care Home

Springkell House Care Home is a residential care home registered to provide personal care for up to 35 people across 3 floors. The service provides support to people requiring residential care and people living with dementia. At the time of the inspection, there were 31 people living at Springkell House Care Home, some of whom were living with dementia.

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

People and their relatives told us staff were kind towards them and they felt safe living at Springkell House Care Home. There were sufficient staff deployed to support people with their needs.

Staff were aware of risks related to people’s care and how to support people appropriately. Staff knew how to whistleblow and raise concerns to the provider and externally, should they need to. People received medicines as prescribed.

Plans were in place for the event of an emergency evacuation. Staff had completed individual personal emergency evacuation plans for people.

We were assured the service were following safe infection prevention and control procedures to keep people safe.

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 their relatives told us they felt engaged and were given the opportunity to feedback on the service. There were however no systems to gather and act on feedback from external professionals.

People, their relatives and staff told us there was a positive atmosphere at the service. They were generally positive about the manager and felt listened to.

The service had a new manager who applied to become a registered manager. The provider’s governance systems were not fully effective, for example the provider’s own audits had not identified the lack of PRN protocols.

For more details, please see the full report which is on the CQC website at www.cqc.org.uk

Rating at last inspection

The last rating for this service was good (published 7 November 2018).

Why we inspected

The inspection was prompted in part due to concerns received about staff management of people’s risks, allegations of people sustaining unexplained bruising and the culture in the service. A decision was made for us to inspect and examine those risks. As a result, we undertook a focused inspection to review the key questions of safe and well-led only. For those key questions not inspected, we used the ratings awarded at the last inspection to calculate the overall rating.

We did not find evidence of the concerns we received prior to the 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.

You can read the report from our last comprehensive inspection, by selecting the ‘all reports’ link for Springkell House Care Home 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.

We found the following examples of good practice.

Infection control processes were regularly reviewed by the manager and senior staff through a range of audits. Staff received infection control training which was regularly updated as guidance changed. This included training in the safe use and disposal of personal protective equipment (PPE). Staff had access to sufficient PPE and were observed to use this correctly.

Changes had been made to how areas of the home were used to enable social distancing. For example, tables had been placed between chairs in communal areas, the office and staff room had been moved to larger rooms with handwashing facilities and a one-way system established around the kitchen and dining area. Cleaning schedules had been adapted to ensure high touch areas were cleaned frequently and hand gel was available throughout the home.

Testing for COVID-19 was completed in line with government guidance. Contingency plans were in place to guide staff on the appropriate action to take should anyone test positive.

Visiting protocols were in place which included a booking system for designated visitors. Visitors were required to complete health checks prior to entering the home. This included a test for COVID-19 and a temperature check. A room with external access and handwashing facilities had been made available for people to receive their visitors safely.

At our last inspection we rated the service Good. At this inspection we found the evidence continued to support the rating of Good and there was no evidence or information from our inspection and ongoing monitoring that demonstrated serious risks or concerns. This inspection report is written in a shorter format because our overall rating of the service has not changed since our last inspection.

At this inspection we found the service remained Good.

Why the service is rated Good.

Care was delivered safely with risks to people routinely assessed and planned for. Staff responded appropriately to incidents and understood their roles in safeguarding adults’ procedures. Medicines were managed and administered safely by trained staff. The home environment was clean with regular checks carried out to ensure its safety.

People were prepared food that they liked and their dietary needs were met. People were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff supported them in the least restrictive way possible; the policies and systems in the service supported this practice. The home environment was adapted to people’s needs and we observed people could move around the environment safely. People’s needs were assessed before they came to live at the home and staff supported people to access healthcare professionals. Staff had the right training and support for their roles.

Staff were kind and we observed interactions which demonstrated they had a caring nature. Staff knew people well and routinely involved people in their care. Care was provided in a way that encouraged people to maintain their independence. Staff were respectful of people’s privacy when they provided care in a dignified manner.

People had access to a range of activities and staff gathered information about people’s backgrounds and preferences to enable them to provide personalised care. Care plans were regularly reviewed and changes in needs were responded to. Staff planned end of life care in a sensitive and personalised manner. People and relatives knew how to raise a complaint and were confident their concerns would be addressed by staff or management.

People told us they liked the registered manager and we saw that they had regular opportunities to make suggestions about the home. Staff felt supported by management and systems were in place to enable good communication between staff. There were a variety of checks and audits at the home to monitor the quality of care delivery. People benefitted from the provider’s links with the local community.

Further information is in the detailed findings below

We found people's views had been sought and they and their relatives had been involved in the planning of their care. The service had ensured people's consent had been obtained prior to any care being delivered and had ensured all staff had been trained in identifying and reporting possible signs of abuse. The service had appropriate measures in place to ensure people were cared for in a clean and hygienic environment and that there were enough staff to meet people's needs.