Archived: Brooklands Care Home

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

People were safe and protected from abuse and avoidable harm. Risk assessments helped protect the health and welfare of people who used the service. People received their medicines when they needed them from staff who had been trained and had their competency regularly checked. There were sufficient staff numbers to meet people’s needs. The recruitment processes ensured new staff were suitable to work in the home. Infection control was well managed and the home was clean and free from hazards.

People were supported to live healthy lives because they had access to professionals, a well-trained staff team and a choice of a nutritious diet. The home worked effectively with other organisations to provide effective and consistent care. 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 were treated as individuals which helped protect their dignity. People’s equality and diversity was respected by a caring staff team and where they wished they were supported to continue with their religious needs. Staff gave people their time and understood this was important in supporting people’s well-being. They knew the importance of encouraging people to maintain their independence.

The staff knew people well. They planned and provided care to meet people’s needs and to take account of their preferences. They had a wide range of organised activities and entertainments to chose from. Links with local community groups were well developed to enhance people's lives. People could see their visitors as they wished and maintain relationships that were important to them

The home was being well-led by the registered manager and people's views about the quality of care were used to make improvements. Everyone we spoke with told us they would recommend the home and were happy with the way the home was managed. Staff were well trained and supported for their role. They felt valued and enjoyed working at the home. The provider regularly carried out checks on key aspects of the home such as plans of care, staff competency and safety of the environment.

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 Requires Improvement (published 14 July 2016) and there were two breaches of regulation. 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. There was also an inspection on 28 July 2017 however, the report following that inspection was withdrawn as there was an issue with some of the information that we gathered.

Why we inspected

This is a planned re-inspection because of the issue highlighted above.

Follow up

We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service until we return to visit as per our re-inspection programme. If we receive any concerning information we may inspect sooner.

Brooklands Nursing Home is registered to accommodate a maximum of 43 people. At the time of our inspection there were 42 people living at the home. It is owned and operated by the partnership of Mark Jonathan Gilbert and Luke William Gilbert.

Although the home is currently called Brooklands Nursing Home it does not provide nursing care. The present owners took the decision to stop providing nursing care some months ago. Since then anybody living at the home who required the support of a registered nurse has been helped to find alternative accommodation and registered nurses no longer work at the home.

The home did not have a registered manager. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission to manage the service. Like registered providers, they are ‘registered persons’. Registered persons have legal responsibility for meeting the requirements in the Health and Social Care Act 2008 and associated Regulations about how the service is run.

During the inspection we spoke with a number of people living at Brooklands and with their relatives. We also spoke to a number of staff who held different roles within the home. We looked around the home and examined records relating to the safety of the home, staff and the care people had received.

At this inspection we found breaches of regulations. This was because staff had not received the support, training and supervision they needed and people’s legal rights had not always been protected as outlined in the Mental Capacity Act 2005.

You can see what action we told the provider to take at the back of the full version of the report.

Staff had not all had the training, supervision or support they needed to carry out their role effectively. This meant that staff may not have the knowledge to support people safely and well. A lack of supervision at key times in the day meant people living at the home did not receive a well organised service.

Not everybody living at the home had been assessed to see if they required a Deprivation of Liberty Safeguard (DoLS). This meant that people may be being deprived of their liberty without the legal protection of a DoLS.

The home did not have a registered manager, however a new manager had been appointed who had considerable experience of management within a care home setting.

Information given by staff on their application forms had not always been checked to ensure it was accurate. References from the person’s most recent employer had not always been obtained. This meant that recruitment procedures had not always been robust enough to ensure staff were suitable to work with vulnerable people.

People received the support they needed with their health care including monitoring their health and seeing health care professionals. Medication was managed safely and people received their medication as prescribed.

Systems were in place for reporting any potential safeguarding adults incidents that occurred and these had been followed. People living at the home said they felt safe and were confident to raise a complaint if needed.

People liked and trusted the staff team. Staff were polite and respectful towards people and responded positively to requests for support.

The building was well decorated, clean and tidy with equipment available to support people with their mobility needs. A large outside garden was furnished with chairs, tables and umbrellas so people could enjoy sitting outside.

Systems were in place for assessing and planning improvements to the quality of the service provided. These were on going and had not yet become fully embedded within the home.