Background to this inspection
Updated
7 March 2020
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 carried out by an inspector, a specialist nurse advisor 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
Blackwell Vale is a ‘care home’. People in care homes receive accommodation and nursing or personal care as a single package under one contractual agreement. CQC regulates both the premises and the care provided, and both were looked at during this inspection.
A new manager had applied to be the registered manager. A registered manager and the provider are legally responsible for how the service is run and for the quality and safety of the care provided.
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 local authority, Clinical Commissioning Group and local Healthwatch. Healthwatch is an independent consumer champion that gathers and represents the views of the public about health and social care services in England. This information helps support our inspections. 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 10 people who used the service and seven relatives about their experience of the care provided. We spoke with 12 members of staff including the regional manager, manager, nurses, senior care workers, care workers, administrative and maintenance staff. 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.
We reviewed a range of records. This included four people’s care records and multiple medicine records. We looked at four staff files in relation to recruitment and staff supervision. We reviewed a variety of records relating to the management of the service.
Updated
7 March 2020
About the service
Blackwell Vale is a nursing care home registered to provide personal and nursing care to up to 60 people. There were 45 people living at the home at the time of this inspection.
The home is set out over two floors in an older, purpose-built building. The first floor accommodated people who were living with dementia. The ground floor accommodated people who have general nursing and personal care needs.
People’s experience of using this service and what we found
At the time of this inspection there was no demonstration of competency checks and clinical support of nurses. Some nurses had not had any supervision or training over the past year. There were plans for improvement in this area.
People and relatives said the staff were very kind and caring. They felt the staff knew them very well and understood their preferences. People said they were treated with dignity and respect by all staff. They said staff were careful and sensitive when supporting them. People enjoyed the company of the friendly, welcoming staff.
People and relatives said this was a safe place to live. There were enough staff to meet people’s needs. Staff knew how to report any concerns and said these would be acted upon.
The home was clean and warm. Some areas needed redecoration and improved lighting. The home was not fully adapted to support people who were living with dementia. We have made a recommendation about this.
People’s needs were assessed to make sure their care could be provided. Staff worked well with other care professionals to support people’s health needs.
People were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff assisted them in the least restrictive way possible and in their best interests; the policies and systems in the service upheld this practice.
People received personalised support that matched their individual preferences. There had been a period where there had been few activities but there were plans to improve this.
People and relatives commented positively on the open culture in the home and the approachability of the manager and staff.
There had been a gap in the management of the home for a period last year. The new manager was clear about the areas that needed attention and had plans to address them.
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 20 February 2019). The service remains rated requires improvement. This service has been rated requires improvement for three consecutive inspections.
Why we inspected
This was a planned inspection based on the previous rating.
Enforcement
We have identified a breach in relation to training and support for nurses at this inspection. Please see the action we have told the provider to take at the end of this report.
Follow up
We will meet with the provider following this report being published to discuss how they will make changes to ensure they improve their rating to at least good. We will work with the local authority to monitor progress. We will return to visit as per our re-inspection programme. If we receive any concerning information we may inspect sooner.