Castle Dene Care Home

Updated 10 November 2022

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 Health and Social Care Act 2008.

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 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

Castle Dene Care Home is a ‘care home’. People in care homes receive accommodation and nursing and/or personal care as a single package under one contractual agreement dependent on their registration with us. Castle Dene Care Home is a care home without nursing care. CQC regulates both the premises and the care provided, and both were looked at during this inspection.

Registered Manager

This provider is required to have a registered manager to oversee the delivery of regulated activities at this location. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission to manage the service. Registered managers and providers are legally responsible for how the service is run, for the quality and safety of the care provided and compliance with regulations.

At the time of our inspection there was a registered manager in post.

Notice of inspection

This inspection was unannounced.

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 (PIR). This is information providers are required to send us annually with key information about their service, what they do well, and improvements they plan to make. We used all this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection

We spoke with 2 people who used the service and 7 relatives about their experience of the care provided. We spoke with 11 members of staff including the registered manager, deputy manager, senior care workers, care workers, kitchen staff, domestic assistants and the maintenance person. We also spoke with the nominated individual. The nominated individual is responsible for supervising the management of the service on behalf of the provider.

We reviewed a range of records. This included 4 people’s care records, 3 staff recruitment files and multiple medication records. A variety of documents relating to the management of the service, including policies, training records, maintenance records and quality assurance documents were reviewed.

Updated 10 November 2022

About the service

Castle Dene Care Home is a residential care home providing accommodation and personal care to up to 36 people. The service provides support to older people and people living with dementia. At the time of our inspection, there were 27 people using the service.

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

People were safe and staff protected people from the risk of harm. The provider identified and assessed risks to people’s safety. Staff took action to monitor and minimise risk where possible. There were enough staff to safely support people and appropriate recruitment procedures were in place. Medicines were managed safely, and people received their medicines as prescribed. The service was clean and safe infection prevention and control procedures were in place. Lessons were learnt when things went wrong.

The service was well-led. Staff were supported by the management team. There was a positive and welcoming atmosphere in the service. Relatives were kept up to date and people were supported to be involved and give feedback. Appropriate referrals were made to professionals when needed. Quality assurance measures were in place to monitor the quality of the service and drive improvement. The provider and management team were open and honest throughout the inspection process.

We expect health and social care providers to guarantee autistic people and people with a learning disability the choices, dignity, independence and good access to local communities that most people take for granted. Right support, right care, right culture is the statutory guidance which supports CQC to make assessments and judgements about services providing support to people with a learning disability and/or autistic people. We considered this guidance as there were people using the service who have a learning disability and or who are autistic.

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 13 November 2019).

Why we inspected

This inspection was prompted by a review of the information we held about this service and concerns received in relation to the standard of care. As a result, we undertook a focused inspection to review the key questions of safe and well-led only.

For those key questions not inspected, we used the ratings awarded at the last inspection to calculate the overall rating.

We found no evidence during this inspection that people were at risk of harm from this concern. Please see the safe and well-led sections of this full report.

You can read the report from our last comprehensive inspection, by selecting the ‘all reports’ link for Castle Dene 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.