Dalemain House

Updated 20 July 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.

Service and service type

Dalemain House 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. Dalemain House 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 service is required to have a registered manager. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission to manage the service. 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.

At the time of our inspection there was not a registered manager in post.

Notice of inspection

This inspection was unannounced.

What we did before the 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.

During the inspection

We spoke with three people who used the service about their experience of the care provided. We contacted four relatives by telephone and spoke to them. We spoke with four members of staff including housekeeping staff, the deputy manager the owner and the nominated individual. The nominated individual is responsible for supervising the management of the service on behalf of the provider.

We continued to seek clarification from the provider to validate evidence found. We looked at training data, maintenance records and other information the service sent. We contacted some staff to talk about their experience of working at the home.

Updated 20 July 2022

About the service

Dalemain House provides accommodation and personal care for up to 24 older people. There were 17 people living at the home during this inspection. The home is located in a residential area, close to the town of Southport, which can be reached by the local transport services. The home is a large converted house and all areas are accessible by a passenger lift and there is ramped access to the front garden. Accommodation includes 11 single rooms and five double rooms which are situated over three floors.

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

Governance systems were not robust enough to highlight some of the concerns we raised with regards to care records. We have received assurances from the provider and the manager that all of our feedback has been actioned. The manager understood their role and they were honest and transparent with us on the days of our inspection regarding some improvements to systems and processes. Some notifications had not been sent to CQC.

People told us they felt safe, and there was enough staff to support people safely. Staff were recruited safely, following robust checks on their character and suitability for the role.

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.

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 8 January 2018).

Why we inspected

This inspection was prompted by a review of the information we held about this service.

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.

We received concerns in relation to staffing and oversight at the home from a recent review of the service. 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 have found evidence that the provider needs to make improvements.

Please see the safe and well-led sections of this full report.

You can see what action we have asked the provider to take at the end of this full report.

The provider has been responsive since our inspection and sent us an action plan of how they plan to address some of the issues found at this inspection.

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

Follow up

We will request an action plan from the provider to understand what they will do to improve the standards of quality and safety. We will work alongside the provider and local authority to monitor progress. We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service, which will help inform when we next inspect.