The White House Residential Care Home

The White House Residential Care Home is a care home providing accommodation for up to 16 people, including people living with dementia. At the time of the inspection there were 10 people living at the home.

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

We received information of concern following the unexpected unavailability of the service's registered manager. People told us the service was not being properly managed and there was ineffective oversight by the provider. Concerns in relation to the operation of the home had been raised with the CQC and local authority safeguarding department and there was a potential issue around the stability of the service. Before the inspection, we spoke with a provider representative to seek reassurances and liaised with colleagues in the local authority.

The local authority was the primary agency dealing with any safety issues arising out of the concerns that had been raised. There was no evidence to support CQC should use its authority to investigate specific incidents. We inspected the home to see how care and support was being provided and how the service was being managed against the information the provider had shared with us.

During the inspection we noted people were safe and comfortable. People said they were happy and felt safe.

The provider needed to have contingencies in place to deal with unexpected stresses on the service such as the unavailability of staff.

Staff told us people were being kept safe and this was their priority. However, they needed certainty around who was managing the home and a timeframe for this to happen.

At inspection, the provider representative was interviewing for the home's manager. An action plan was being developed dealing with oversight of the service, concerns the provider was addressing and when it was expected the service would reach a position of management stability.

The provider representative was working closely with the local safeguarding team to reflect on oversight of the service and the identification of any risks to people.

Rating at last inspection

The last rating for this service was Requires Improvement (published 4 August 2023).

Why we inspected

We undertook this targeted inspection to follow up on specific concerns we had received about the service. The inspection was prompted in response to concerns received about the lack of management and oversight. A decision was made for us to inspect and examine associated risks.

CQC have introduced targeted inspections to follow up on Warning Notices or to check specific concerns. They do not look at an entire key question, only 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. At this inspection, there was limited evidence people were at risk of harm from these concerns. Please see the 'well-led' section of this report for further details.

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

The White House Residential Care Home is a care home providing personal care to up to 16 people. The service provides support to people living with a dementia, people with a physical disability, people with a sensory impairment, younger adults and older adults. At the time of our inspection there were 11 people using the service.

The home is newly opened and set across 2 floors. The home has good sized communal areas and a garden for people to use.

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

The service did not have a manager at the time we inspected; the new manager was due to commence the week after the inspection. As a result, we found that significant improvements were required to manage medicines safely, assess risk to people’s health, and to recruit staff safely.

We made a recommendation about the incident recording processes to make sure any lessons were learned and made recommendations about meeting people’s communication needs and dealing with complaints.

People were not supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff did not support them in the least restrictive way possible and in their best interests; the policies and systems in the service did not support this practice.

The home was clean and comfortable. A relative said, “The rooms are pristine and cleaned daily.” People were kept safe from the risk of abuse.

People and their relatives spoke highly about staff. One person said, “The staff are very good” and another person said, “Staff seem caring, you can talk to them about anything if you wanted to.”

People were supported to live healthy lives, and the food was freshly prepared and nutritious. Rooms were decorated to a high standard and were personalised. People were supported to visit the local area although they and relatives commented that more activities could be done within the home.

Methods to seek feedback from people that used the service, relatives and staff were planned but yet to be embedded. The home had a positive atmosphere and people were supported by staff that enjoyed their jobs.

For more details, please see the full report which is on the CQC website at www.cqc.org.uk

Rating at last inspection

This service was registered with us on 28 March 2023 and this is the first inspection.

Enforcement

We have identified breaches in relation to managing people’s medicines, assessing risk to people’s health and wellbeing, safe recruitment of staff, consent to care and treatment and the governance of the service at this inspection.

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 continue to monitor information we receive about the service, which will help inform when we next inspect.