Background to this inspection
Updated
12 February 2020
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.
Inspection team
The inspection was completed by an inspector, a specialist advisor who was a registered nurse and an Expert by Experience. An Expert by Experience is a person who has personal experience of using or caring for someone who uses this type of care service.
Service and service type
Braeburn Lodge is a ‘care home’. People in care homes receive accommodation and nursing or personal care as 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. This means that they 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 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. The provider was not asked to complete 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 took this into account when we inspected the service and made the judgements in this report.
During the inspection
We spoke with 11 people who used the service and five relatives about their experience of the care provided. We spoke with eight members of staff including the area manager, registered manager, two nurses, the head of residential care, two care workers and the chef. 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 reviewed a range of records. This included eight people’s care records and medication records. We also looked at variety of records relating to the management of the service, including policies and procedures.
Updated
12 February 2020
About the service
Braeburn Lodge is a nursing home providing personal and nursing care to 58 people aged 65 and over at the time of the inspection. The service can support up to 60 people. Care is provided across four separate wings, each of which has separate adapted facilities. One of the wings specialises in providing care to people living with dementia.
People’s experience of using this service and what we found
The provider had ensured that staff were safe to work at the home. There were enough staff to meet people’s needs. Staff were kind to people and had received the training they needed to provide safe care to people. This included training in the safe management of medicines and how to work to reduce the risk of cross infection.
People had been involved in planning their care. Care plans mostly contained the information needed to provide safe care, although at times they lacked some details. However, staff knowledge ensured that people received care that was tailored to their needs. Risks were assessed and care was planned to keep people safe.
People’s needs at the end of their lives were recorded and the provider worked with other agencies to ensure they met those needs.
We found there were gaps in the recording of wound care and the management of percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy (PEG). This is a tube which is used to place food directly into a person’s stomach when they are unable to eat safely. We raised these concerns with the registered manager and area manager and they took immediate action to resolve the issues.
People were offered choices in their lives. 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. Staff understood how to provide care which protected people’s privacy and dignity.
There were effective systems in place to monitor the quality of care provided and the manager took immediate action to rectify concerns that we raised. The culture of the home was open and people knew who the registered manager was and were happy to raise concerns with them. Complaints had been dealt with in line with the provider’s policies. The provider gathered the views of people living at the home to understand how they may improve the quality of care provided.
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 11 April 2017).
Why we inspected
This was a planned inspection based on the previous rating.
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.