Bernash Care Home

Updated 23 March 2023

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

This inspection was carried out by one inspector.

Service and service type

Bernash is a ‘care home’ without nursing care. 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. 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 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 5 people who lived at the home, 1 relative, 3 staff, 1 team leader and the registered manager.

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 people’s risk assessments, medication records, maintenance records, 3 staff files in relation to their recruitment, quality assurance surveys and a variety of records relating to the management of the home.

Updated 23 March 2023

The inspection

Bernash is a care home providing accommodation and personal care or up to 23 people. At the time of the inspection, 20 people were living at the home.

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

People's individual risks had been identified. Risk assessments were in place with regular reviews carried out to help keep people safe. Medicines were being managed safely and people received their medicines as prescribed. Effective infection control measures were in place. The principles of the Mental Capacity Act were adhered to when necessary. There were effective staff recruitment and selection processes in place. People and the staff we spoke with confirmed staffing levels were good. There were enough staff to support people and the staff worked well as a team.

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.

The registered manager provided effective leadership. They led by example and had a visible presence, with a good understanding of the day to day oversight of the home. The registered manager and staff team acted when learning from any incidents that may have occurred. Surveys to feedback on the quality of the care provided were completed by people and relatives.

Systems were in place to oversee and improve the quality of care, which helped to promote people's safety and wellbeing. The registered manager was supported by senior staff and a stable staff team. They worked in partnership with health and social care professionals to promote positive outcomes for people.

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 21 February 2020). The rating at this inspection remains good.

Why we inspected

We undertook this inspection as part of a random selection of services rated Good and Outstanding. We inspected two key questions, Safe and Well led.

For those key questions not inspected, we used the ratings awarded at the last inspection to calculate the overall rating. The overall rating for the home remains good based on the findings of this inspection.

We looked at infection prevention and control measures under the Safe key question. We look at this in all care home inspections even if no concerns or risks have been identified. This is to provide assurance that the service can respond to COVID-19 and other infection outbreaks effectively.

Follow up

We will return to visit as per our re-inspection programme. If we receive any concerning information we may inspect sooner.

You can read the report from our last comprehensive inspection, by selecting the ‘all reports’ link for Bernash Care Home on our website at www.cqc.org.uk