Gencare Care Home

Updated 6 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. This inspection was planned to check whether the provider was meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Act, to look at the overall quality of the service, and to provide a rating for the service under the Care Act 2014.

Inspection team

The inspection team consisted of one inspector.

Service and service type

Gencare 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. Gencare 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 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 registered manager in post. However, the contract was terminated soon after our second visit. The provider is actively recruiting.

Notice of inspection

We gave the service 24 hours’ notice of the inspection on the first visit. This was because the service is small, and people are often out and we wanted to be sure there would be people at home to speak with us. We visited the office location on 27 April 2023. We re-visited the service on 14 June 2023 in response to concerning information.

What we did before the inspection

We reviewed information we had received about the service since it was registered with the CQC. The provider completed a Provider Information Return (PIR). The PIR is a form that asks the provider to give some key information about the service, what the service does well and improvements they plan to make. The PIR also provides data about the organisation and service. We took this into account when we inspected the service and made the judgements in this report. We used all of this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection

We spoke with 2 relatives of people who used the service to help us understand the experience of people. We also spoke with 2 people using the service. We spoke with the registered manager, whose contract was terminated during the inspection, a service director, and 3 staff members. We reviewed the care records of 3 people using the service, personnel files of 4 staff and other records about the management of the service.

Updated 6 July 2023

About the service

Gencare is a newly built residential care home which started trading in May 2022. Gencare is registered to provide care to up to 5 people with a physical disability and sensory impairments. At the time of inspection there were 3 people receiving care.

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

We have made one recommendation regarding closed cultures.

People did not benefit from consistent leadership. There had been frequent changes of registered managers over the last 12 months. As a result, there was a lack of internal management oversight in addition to the external oversight provided by a consulting company.

We were not confident the management arrangements at the home were appropriate. The provider overly relied on a consulting company for oversight. A registered manager was required on site to make operational decisions, to lead and model the implementation of relevant practice.

The systems in place to monitor and evaluate the service were not effective. We established from records that incidents had been documented, however, they had not been sufficiently analysed and measures taken to minimise further occurrences.

Training records were not fully complete. However, following the inspection, we received evidence showing relevant staff had received refresher training and further dates for training had been scheduled.

Whilst the provider shared evidence to show action was now being taken, it is of concern that gaps had not been identified sooner. This failure suggests the providers own quality assurance processes were not sufficiently robust to protect people using the service from harm.

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 protected from the risk of harm and abuse. There were effective systems and processes in place to minimise risks. Care workers had been recruited safely and they knew how to identify and report concerns.

People received person centred care. Their assessments showed they had been involved in the assessment process.

People were protected from the risks associated with poor infection control because the service had processes in place to reduce the risk of infection and cross contamination.

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

Rating at last inspection

This service was registered with us on 22 February 2023 and this is the first inspection.

Why we inspected

This inspection was prompted by a review of the information we held about this service. However, following the first visit, we were notified of 4 falls incidents that may have resulted in an injury to the person. This prompted the second visit. The incidents were subject to initial inquiries to determine whether to commence a criminal investigation. As a result, this inspection did not examine the circumstances of the incidents. However, the information shared with CQC about the incidents indicated potential concerns about the management of risk of falls from moving and handling equipment. This inspection examined those risks.

You can see what action we have asked the provider to take at the end of this full report.

Enforcement and Recommendations

We are mindful of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on our regulatory function. This meant we took account of the exceptional circumstances arising as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic when considering what enforcement action was necessary and proportionate to keep people safe as a result of this inspection. We will continue to monitor the service and will take further action if needed.

We have identified breaches in relation to risk assessments and a lack of an effective quality assurance system.

Follow up

We will request an action plan from the provider to understand what they will do to improve the standards of quality and safety. We will work alongside the provider and local authority to monitor progress. We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service, which will help inform when we next inspect.