Background to this inspection
Updated
15 December 2021
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.
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 carried out by one inspector.
Service and service type
Springfield Care Home 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.
The service had a manager registered with the Care Quality Commission. 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 the local authority, the district nursing team who visited the home and the local Healthwatch service. Healthwatch is an independent consumer champion that gathers and represents the views of the public about health and social care services in England. The provider completed 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 used all of this information to plan our inspection.
During the inspection
At the time of the inspection there were restrictions in place to manage an outbreak of COVID-19 in the home. This meant we were not able to visit all areas of the home and were limited in the number of people living in the home we could speak with.
We spoke with four people who used the service and one relative about their experience of the care provided. We spoke with 12 staff members employed in the home. These were the registered manager, the deputy manager, four members of care staff, one Care Home Assistant Practitioner (CHAP), one nurse, two members of the activities (Magic Moments) team, one domestic and one laundry assistant. We also spoke with the regional manager and three regional support managers who were supporting the home at the time of this inspection.
We reviewed a range of records. This included five people’s care and medication records and seven staff files in relation to recruitment. A variety of records relating to the management of the service, including policies and procedures were reviewed.
After the inspection
We continued to seek clarification from the provider to validate evidence found. We also spoke by telephone with a further two relatives.
Updated
15 December 2021
About the service
Springfield Care Home is registered to provide personal and nursing care to up to 69 people including those living with dementia. The home has self-contained units on four floors that accommodate people according to their needs. There were 52 people living in the home at the time of the inspection.
People’s experience of using this service and what we found
People told us they felt safe living in the home and that staff treated them well. Relatives were generally happy with the care their family members received. One person was concerned regarding the number of falls their relative had experienced and were unsure what action staff had taken to reduce the risk of further falls occurring. The regional manager told us they would contact the relative to provide reassurance regarding the care being provided to their family member.
The provider had systems in place to monitor the quality and safety of the service. However, these had not been effective as we identified a number of shortfalls during the inspection. We found there was no robust process to check the COVID-19 vaccination status of professional visitors to the home. Staff had not always been safely recruited, complaints had not been properly recorded and the registered manager had failed to submit required notifications regarding significant events in the service. The provider had deployed a regional management team to support the home as they had already identified shortfalls in the way the home was being run,
Staff had received training in safeguarding and knew what action to take to protect people from the risk of harm. There were sufficient numbers of staff to meet people’s needs in a timely manner. Staff managed medicines safely. The home was clean and staff wore PPE correctly. There was an outbreak of COVID-19 in the home when the inspection took place. We saw the provider had systems to ensure government requirements were in place regarding isolation, social distancing, cleaning and staff movement across the home to reduce the risk of further spread of infection. However, the provider’s own audit systems showed infection control measures in the home needed to be further improved.
Staff told us they enjoyed working in the home and would recommend it to others. They told us the management team were supportive and approachable. The registered manager used meetings with staff to share any concerns or lessons learned from incidents and accidents.
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 17 July 2019).
Why we inspected
The inspection was prompted in part due to concerns received about staffing and the quality of care people were receiving in the home. As a result, we undertook a focused inspection to review the key questions of safe and well-led only.
We reviewed the information we held about the service. No areas of concern were identified in the other key questions. We therefore did not inspect them. Ratings from previous comprehensive inspections for those key questions were used in calculating the overall rating at this inspection.
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.
We have found evidence that the provider needs to make improvements. Please see the safe and well led sections of this full report. As a result, the overall rating for the service has changed from good to requires improvement. This is based on the findings at this inspection. You can see what action we have asked the provider to take at the end of this full report.
You can read the report from our last comprehensive inspection, by selecting the ‘all reports’ link for Springfield Care Home on our website at www.cqc.org.uk
Enforcement
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 to keep people safe and to hold providers to account where it is necessary for us to do so.
We have identified breaches in relation to governance systems, the recruitment of staff and the requirement to check the vaccination status of professional visitors to Springfield Care Home. Please see the action we have told the provider to take at the end of this report.
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 return to visit as per our re-inspection programme. If we receive any concerning information we may inspect sooner.