Archived: The Heathers Nursing Home

At this inspection we saw that the home provided much more stimulation for people. Action had been taken to make the environment more inspiring and interesting for people. A range of sensory items and everyday items were available to engage people's interest. There was more interaction between care staff and the people that lived in the dementia care unit.

The home had implemented an effective system to administer ointments and creams. This meant that people were receiving this type of medication as prescribed.

The home had taken action to improve the knowledge and skills of staff working with people with dementia care needs. Staff were now involved in developing the unit. Staff spoke appropriately with people and spent time interacting with them. Plans were in place for all staff to undertake a distance learning course in dementia care.

People told us they were happy living at the home. Comments included; "It's lovely here" and "I'm quite happy here".

People were having their physical care needs met. Plans of care were in place to provide the information for people's care needs to be met. These were regularly reviewed and any changes were acted upon. People living in the elderly frail unit told us there were lots of activities to take part in. Within the dementia care unit people were not being adequately stimulated and engaged to make sure their social and emotional needs were met.

Effective systems were in not in place to make sure that when people were prescribed creams these were administered correctly.

People in the elderly frail unit were well supported by staff. People said staff were available to respond to their needs. There were not sufficient qualified, experienced and skilled staff available in the dementia care unit to fully meet their needs. Some staff did not engage with people enough or in the right way.

The home had systems in place to review and monitor the service. A range of audits were completed and actions taken when issues were identified. People's views were sought about the service. When complaints were made these were fully acted upon.

We found that the manager had looked at how the home could improve the care provided to people who had or who were at risk of developing sore skin/ pressure sores. We visited five people whom staff told us needed to stay in bed due to their poor health and were at increased risk of pressure sores. All but one person whom we visited were unable to communicate verbally. All of the people we visited looked clean and comfortable in bed. We saw that the people had their position changed at the frequency required in their plan of care and had the required equipment in place to minimise the risk of them developing pressure sores. However staff were not using the equipment appropriately. This means that people's skin may not have the protection needed to reduce the risk of it becoming sore.

We found during our previous inspection of the service that staffing in the dementia care unit was not sufficient to adequately meet people's needs. We were told that although there had been no change to staffing levels the manager was looking at the redeployment of staff from quieter times of the day to busier times. We found that improvements were needed to staffing levels to ensure that people's needs were met appropriately and in a timely manner.