We carried out a review of the data available to us about Croft House Care Home on 6 July 2023. We have not found evidence that we need to carry out an inspection or reassess our rating at this stage.
This could change at any time if we receive new information. We will continue to monitor data about this service.
If you have concerns about Croft House Care Home, you can give feedback on this service.
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At this inspection we found the service remained good.
Croft House Care Home is a ‘care home’. People in care homes receive accommodation and nursing or personal care as single package under one contractual agreement. CQC regulates both the premises and the care provided, and both were looked at during this inspection.
The care home accommodates 60 people across three units. Some people who are living at Croft House are receiving nursing care and some people are living with dementia. At the time of the inspection 42 people were being supported in the home, 16 were receiving nursing care.
Systems and process were in place to keep people safe. Risks to people and the environment were assessed and plans put in place to mitigate against them. Recruitment processes were in place with all necessary checks completed before staff commenced employment. The provider used a dependency tool to ensure staffing levels met the needs of the people using the service. Safeguarding processes were in place. Appropriate health and safety checks were carried out on a regular basis.
People’s needs were assessed ahead of admission to the home. Staff were provided with appropriate training. Staff had access to regular supervision. People had access to a healthy varied diet. People had access to healthcare professionals when necessary. 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.
Staff used a caring approach with people and their relatives. Staff provided support in a respectful manner ensuring people’s privacy and dignity was promoted. People’s independence was promoted where ever possible. People had access to advocacy services if necessary.
Care plans were personalised to meet people’s needs. People enjoyed a range of activities both inside and outside the home. The service had positive links with the community with people accessing the theatre, local centres and shops. The provider had a complaints process in place which was accessible to people and relatives.
The provider had a quality assurance process in place to drive improvements in Croft House Care Home. Staff were extremely positive about the registered manager.
The provider worked closely with outside agencies and other stakeholders such as commissioners and social workers.
On 20, 21 and 22 January 2015 we completed an inspection at Croft House Care Home and informed the registered provider they were in breach of a number of regulations including care and welfare, cleanliness and infection control, assessing and monitoring the quality of service provision, supporting staff and records. The provider submitted an action plan in June 2015.
Whilst completing this visit we reviewed the action the registered provider had taken to address the above breaches of The Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2010, which corresponds to the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014. We found that the registered provider had ensured improvements were made in these areas and these had led the home to meeting the regulations.
Croft House Care Home is located in a residential setting in Shotton, County Durham. The home comprised of 59 bedrooms, all of which had en-suite shower rooms. The home provided residential and nursing care and was laid out over three floors. The ground floor (Bluebell; 18 beds) had accommodation to provide both nursing and residential care, whilst the middle floor (Primrose; 27 beds) was a specifically designed dementia care unit. The top floor (Poppy; 14 beds), primarily for residential care services, had recently been closed due to low occupancy. On the day of our inspection there were 34 people using the service.
Facilities included several lounges and dining rooms, communal bathrooms, shower rooms and toilets, quiet rooms, a hairdressing room, treatment rooms and a communal garden. The general reception was large and spacious with a comfortable seated area.
We saw that entry to the premises was controlled by key-pad entry and all visitors were required to sign in. This meant the provider had appropriate security measures in place to ensure the safety of the people who used the service.
Most people who used the service and their relatives were complimentary about the standard of care at Croft House Care Home. We saw staff supporting and helping to maintain people’s independence. People were encouraged to care for themselves where possible. Staff treated people with dignity and respect.
The provider had an effective recruitment and selection procedure in place and carried out relevant checks when they employed staff. There were sufficient numbers of staff on duty in order to meet the needs of people who used the service.
Training records were up to date and staff received supervisions and appraisals, which meant that staff were properly supported to provide care to people who used the service.
The layout of the building provided adequate space for people with walking aids or wheelchairs to mobilise safely around the home and there were plans to make the home more suitably designed for people living with dementia type conditions.
The service was working within the principles of the Mental Capacity Act 2005 and any conditions on authorisations to deprive a person of their liberty were being met. All the care records we looked at contained evidence of consent.
People were protected against the risks associated with the unsafe use and management of medicines.
People had access to food and drink throughout the day and we saw staff supporting people at meal times when required.
People who used the service had access to a range of activities in the home.
All the care records we looked at showed people’s needs were assessed. Care plans and risk assessments were in place when required and daily records were up to date. Care plans were written in a person centred way and were reviewed regularly.
We saw staff used a range of assessment tools and kept clear records about how care was to be delivered and people who used the service had access to healthcare services and received ongoing healthcare support.
The registered provider had a complaints policy and procedure in place and complaints were fully investigated.
The provider had a quality assurance system in place and gathered information about the quality of their service from a variety of sources.
This inspection took place on 20, 21, and 22 January 2015 and was unannounced. This meant the staff and provider did not know we would be visiting.
When we last inspected the home in January 2014 the provider was compliant.
Croft House is a 59 bedded home which provides residential and nursing care over three floors. At the time of our inspection there were 46 people living in the home. The top floor, known as ‘Poppy’ was primarily for residential care services, whilst the middle floor (Primrose) was a specifically designed dementia care unit. The ground floor (Bluebell) had accommodation to provide both nursing and residential care.
During our inspection there was a registered manager in post, however the registered manager had recently taken on a new role with the provider and a new acting manager had been appointed. The acting manager confirmed her intention to apply to become the registered manager. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission to manage the service. Like registered providers, they are ‘registered persons’. Registered persons have legal responsibility for meeting the requirements in the Health and Social Care Act 2008 and associated Regulations about how the service is run.
People told us they liked living in Croft House and they found the staff very caring towards them. Relatives also commented on the kindness and support given to people by the staff. People also told us they enjoyed their meals.
We looked in people’s bedrooms and the communal areas as well as the kitchen and found the home lacked cleanliness. Further work was needed to prevent the risk of infections spreading.
We saw staff had been safely recruited to work with vulnerable people. This included the provider taking up references and carrying out a Disclosure and Barring Services (DBS) check.
We looked at how the provider carried out their responsibilities under the Mental Capacity Act 2005 in assessing people’s mental capacity. We found there were inconsistencies in the provider’s practice.
We found a number of people had bed rails in the home and the provider did not have suitable arrangements in place to ensure these were checked for safety.
We looked at the care people were receiving and found some of the care needed to be improved. This included appropriate use of fluid balance charts to make sure people had the correct fluid intake and providing people with the correct support to eat.
We found the home had developed links with the local community centre and staff took some residents over to the coffee morning. People told us about the activities the home organised for them.
We saw the home had in place an activities fund into which people paid for trips out and activities. We found the management of the fund lacked clarity and had not been managed in line with the provider’s guidance.
We found staff had not received supervision in line with the provider’s policy. This meant staff had not had supervision meetings or appraisals with their line manager to discuss their progress, their training needs or be given an opportunity to raise any concerns.
We saw the management had put in place audits to test the quality of the service. However some of these had not been completed and they did not identify lapses in the quality of service delivery.
We found the system for record keeping incurred staff having to duplicate entries. In people’s files we found documents had not been completed about people because they were not relevant to them and we found gaps in people’s records.
We found a number of breaches of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2010. You can see what action we told the provider to take at the back of the full version of this report.
We talked to the manager and 4 staff, observed a medication round and reviewed seven people's care records. We found the home safely stored medication and followed good practice in giving people their medicines.
We found people's needs were assessed and care and treatment was planned and delivered in line with their individual wishes and care records. People told us that "This is the best place to live.'
We saw measures were in place to ensure people were cared for in a clean, safe environment.
We also found the provider had taken steps to make sure only suitable people were employed to work in the care home. This was because thorough background checks had been carried out.
The provider had an effective system to regularly assess and monitor the quality of service that people received.
You can see our judgements on the front page of this report.
People told us they were happy with the care and support they were receiving. One person said "It's nice and clean and the staff are very kind", and another said "No complaints whatsoever."
People said they were happy with the staff at Croft House. One person said, 'I love them (the staff); they're really great. They've done everything for me.'