Pratt House

Updated 9 June 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.

This was a focused inspection to check whether the provider had met the requirements of the requirement notices in relation to the previous breaches of regulations of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 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

Pratt House 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.

Notice of inspection

This inspection was announced by phone on arrival, before the inspector entered the service.

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. This is information providers are required to send us with key information about their service, what they do well, and improvements they plan to make. This information helps support our inspections. We used all of this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection

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 spoke with three people who used the service about their experience of the care provided. We spoke with the registered manager, deputy manager and an activity staff member.

We reviewed the environment and a range of records. This included five people’s daily care records and medicine records for eight people. We looked at two staff files in relation to recruitment and training. A variety of records relating to the management of the service, including audits, complaints, accidents, health and safety were also reviewed.

After the inspection

We continued to seek clarification from the provider to validate evidence found. We reviewed five care plans remotely, training records, policies and provider audits. We sought feedback from professionals and relatives. We spoke with one relative and received email feedback from six relatives and a professional involved with the service. We spoke with six staff remotely which included the registered manager, deputy manager, a senior carer and three carers.

Updated 9 June 2021

About the service

Pratt House is a residential care home providing personal care to 17 people aged 65 and over at the time of the inspection. The service can support up to 29 people.

Pratt House accommodates people in one adapted building. People are accommodated on the ground and first floor, with communal areas such as the lounge and dining room on the ground floor. The second floor is for staff use only and consists of a training room and a storage area.

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

People and their relatives told us they were happy with the care and support provided. Relatives commented, “Pratt House is exceptionally warm, friendly and professional. I honestly don’t think they could do more than they do. Thank you to all Pratt House staff, your care and commitment for your residents is outstanding, exemplary and we couldn’t do without you all, ” and “I feel that the home offers a high standard of care and residents are kept clean, comfortable and entertained/engaged. I have only seen the staff acting kindly. “

All of the relatives were very grateful and complimentary of the registered manager and her team for the measures in place to mitigate a COVID-19 outbreak. Whilst they had an outbreak it was very quickly contained. Relatives commented, “They were very successful in preventing or limiting any significant infections throughout the outbreak,” and “Proactive response to the pandemic and done a fantastic job of keeping people safe.”

Some risks to people were identified but not always mitigated. Other risks had not been considered.

The registered manager was open and transparent but did not work to the duty of candour policy by sending people and their relatives a letter of apology after an incident. A recommendation has been made to address this.

People were safeguarded from abuse and systems were in place to promote safe medicine practices.

The service was clean and hygienic, areas of the service had been updated, refurbished and redecorated. Plans were in place to further improve the environment.

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’s health and nutritional needs were met, and person-centred care was promoted. People were provided with in-house, group and one to one activities and they were supported to maintain contact with families during times where the service was closed to visitors.

People were provided with information in an accessible format to promote their choices and independence. Systems were in place to deal with complaints. People and their relatives knew how to raise concerns.

Staff were suitably recruited, inducted, trained and supported in their roles. They had positive relationships with the people they supported and their relatives. Sufficient staffing levels were maintained, and people were supported by a consistent staff team. Systems were in place to promote good communication and staff worked well as a team.

Systems were in place to audit the service, although those audits had not identified that some risks to people were not mitigated. The registered manager and deputy manager had developed in their roles. They worked well together to improve the service. Staff, people who used the service and relatives were all complimentary of the management team whom they described as accessible, approachable, friendly, supportive, personable, professional and proactive.

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 30 July 2019) and there were four breaches of regulations. The provider completed an action plan after the last inspection to show what they would do and by when to improve. At this inspection we found improvements had been made and the provider was no longer in breach of regulations 9, 17 and 19 of the Health and Social Health Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014, however, there was a continued breach of regulation 12.

Why we inspected

We undertook this focused inspection to check they had followed their action plan and to confirm they now met legal requirements. This report only covers our findings in relation to the Key Questions safe, effective, responsive and well-led which contain those requirements.

The ratings from the previous comprehensive inspection for those key questions not looked at on this occasion were used in calculating the overall rating at this inspection. The overall rating for the service remained the same. This is based on the findings at this inspection.

You can read the report from our last comprehensive inspection, by selecting the ‘all reports’ link for Pratt House on our website at www.cqc.org.uk.

Follow up

We will request an action plan for 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.