Conifers Care Home

Updated 10 May 2022

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

The inspection was undertaken by one inspector.

Service and service type

Conifers Care Home 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. Conifers Care Home 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 service is required to have a registered manager. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission to manage the service. This means that they and the provider are legally responsible for how the service is run and for the quality and safety of the care provided. At the time of our inspection there was a registered 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 spoke to six people who used the service and two relatives about their experiences of the care provided. We spoke to six members of staff including the registered manager, care staff, the chef and office manager. We spoke to two visiting health professionals. We reviewed a range of records. This included nine people's care records and multiple medication records. We looked at three staff files in relation to recruitment and staff supervision. A variety of records relating to the management of the service, including policies and procedures were reviewed

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.

Updated 10 May 2022

About the service

Conifers Care Home is a residential care home that provides accommodation and personal care for up to 20 people. People had a range of care and support needs including impaired mobility, frailty of age, diabetes and some people were living with dementia. At the time of our inspection there were 14 people using the service. Accommodation was in one adapted building over two floors which were accessed by a lift.

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

Systems were in place to protect people from the risk of abuse and improper treatment. Staff knew how to identify potential harm and report concerns. Risk to people were identified and managed. People told us they received safe care. Relatives had no concerns about their loved one’s personal safety.

People and relatives told us the care people received was very good and the staff were kind, caring and compassionate. Feedback included “Instantly we walked through the door our first impressions were good and we haven’t been disappointed”. And “The staff are lovely and so caring”.

People received support from a skilled and consistent team of staff. There were enough numbers of staff to ensure people’s needs were met in a timely way. People told us they never felt rushed and staff had time to sit and talk with them.

Care was personalised to meet people’s care, social and well-being needs. Care plans provided detailed information and guidance for staff. Staff knew people well and provided support in line with people’s preferences. People’s diverse needs were catered for and they were treated with dignity and respect.

The culture of the service was positive, and people and staff were complementary of the registered manager and provider. Systems and process were in place to monitor the quality of the service being delivered. Staff told us it was a good place to work.

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.

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 4 September 2020) and there were breaches of regulations. A warning notice was served, and conditions were placed on the providers registration. The provider completed an action plan to show what they would do and by when to improve.

We undertook a targeted inspection (published 6 January 2021) to check whether the Warning Notice we previously served had been met. The targeted inspection found improvements had been made and the provider was no longer in breach of regulations. The overall rating for the service did not change following this targeted inspection and remained requires improvement.

Why we inspected

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.

This inspection was carried out to follow up on action we told the provider to take at the previous inspections.

We undertook an unannounced focused inspection of the service on 30 July 2020. Breaches of legal requirements were found in relation to safe care and treatment and good governance. A Warning Notice was served in relation to Regulation 12 (safe care and treatment) of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014. Conditions were placed on the providers registration in relation to Regulation 17(good governance) of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014.

We undertook an unannounced targeted inspection of the service on 11 December 2020 to check whether the Warning Notice we previously served in relation to Regulation 12 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014 had been met, and it had. We use targeted inspections to follow up on Warning Notices or to check concerns. They do not look at an entire key question, only the part of the key question we are specifically concerned about. Targeted inspections do not change the rating from the previous inspection. This is because they do not assess all areas of a key question.

The provider completed an action plan after the inspection on the 30 July 2020 to show how they would improve and by when. The provider has continued to send CQC a monthly report of actions to demonstrate how they are meeting the conditions placed on their registration in respect of regulation 17 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014

We undertook this comprehensive inspection to check they had followed their action plan and to confirm they now met legal requirements.

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