Mais House

Updated 20 May 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

This inspection was undertaken by 1 inspector.

Service and service type

Mais 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. Mais House 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 provider is required to have a registered manager to oversee the delivery of regulated activities at this location. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission to manage the service. Registered managers and providers are legally responsible for how the service is run, for the quality and safety of the care provided and compliance with regulations.

At the time of our inspection there was a manager in post.

Notice of inspection

This inspection was unannounced.

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 reviewed documentation, inspected the safety of the premises, and carried out observations in communal areas. We spoke and met with 15 people who used the service about their experiences of the care and support they received. We spoke with 11 members of staff including the registered manager, and care staff, and three visitors.

We used the Short Observational Framework for Inspection (SOFI). SOFI is a way of observing care to help us understand the experience of people who could not talk with us. This was undertaken in the communal areas of Mais House.

We looked at a range of records. This included the care records for 7 people, medicine records and 4 staff files in relation to recruitment. Policies and procedures, environmental safety and information relating to the governance of the service were also reviewed. We also spoke with 1 relative over the telephone and 4 healthcare professionals during the inspection process.

Updated 20 May 2023

About the service

Mais House provides accommodation, personal and nursing care for up to 54 older people living with a range of physical health problems, such as Parkinson’s disease, diabetes, strokes and cancer. There were also people who were now living with early stages of dementia and those who were receiving end of life care. There were 39 people living at the home at the time of our inspection.

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

People who lived at Mais House received safe care and support by staff trained to recognise signs of abuse or risk and understood what to do to safely support people. People told us, “I feel safe and cared for,” and “Its lovely here, the food is very nice and staff caring.” Care plans and risk assessments had been completed which meant peoples’ safety and well-being were protected.

People were supported by enough suitably qualified staff to meet their needs. Safe recruitment practices had been followed before staff started working at the service. People were supported to take positive risks, to ensure they had as much choice and control of their lives as possible. We observed medicines being given safely to people by appropriately trained staff, who had been assessed as competent. The home was clean, well-maintained, and comfortable. The provider ensured that when things went wrong, accidents were recorded, and lessons were learned.

Managers and leaders created a transparent and honest culture for people and staff that was focused on ensuring everyone had the support they needed. The management were committed and enthusiastic about providing support and training for staff to enable them to provide people with the best support possible. The management team consistently reviewed the service through their governance systems and identified ways to improve things for people. People, their relatives and staff were given regular opportunities to be involved in how the service was run by being provided with regular opportunities to feedback on aspects of the service.

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 24 October 2018)

Why we inspected

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

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.

For those key questions not inspected, we used the ratings awarded at the last inspection to calculate the overall rating.

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