• Care Home
  • Care home

Elm Bank Care Home

Overall: Good read more about inspection ratings

81-83 Northampton Road, Kettering, Northamptonshire, NN15 7JZ (01536) 313520

Provided and run by:
Elm Bank Healthcare Limited

Latest inspection summary

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Background to this inspection

Updated 13 June 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

The inspection was carried out by 2 inspectors, 1 specialist nurse advisor and 2 Experts 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

Elm Bank 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. Elm Bank 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 a manager was in post and an application to register with CQC was in progress.

Notice of inspection

The first day of inspection 24 April 2023, was unannounced and the second visit on 26 April 2023 was announced.

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, including Healthwatch. Healthwatch is an independent consumer champion that gathers and represents the views of the public about health and social care services in England. We used all this information to plan our inspection. The provider was not asked to complete a Provider Information Return (PIR) prior to this inspection. A PIR is information providers send us to give some key information about the service, what the service does well and improvements they plan to make.

During the inspection

We spoke with 12 people using the service and 3 relatives, about their experience of the care provided. We spoke with 18 members of staff, including care assistants, a senior team leader, catering staff, the chef, the manager, a registered manager from a sister home within the organisation and the regional manager.

We reviewed the care plans for 7 people using the service, including multiple medicine records and healthcare monitoring records. We reviewed records relating to staff recruitment, training, supervision and support. We also looked at records regarding the day-to-day management of the service, including quality assurance reports and key policies and procedures.

Overall inspection

Good

Updated 13 June 2023

Elm Bank Care Home is a residential care home providing care for up to 115 people across 3 floors. At the time of our inspection 84 people were using the service.

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

Systems and processes were in place to monitor the quality of the care provided. However, the systems to monitor medicines administration, accident and incidents and staff recruitment had not always resulted in areas for improvement being identified and acted upon in a timely manner. The manager took immediate action to remedy this.

The manager was aware improvements were required in the service, they had met with the provider and had produced an action plan covering the areas where improvement was needed and progress was being made.

People were protected from the risk of abuse. People and family members told us they felt safe, and staff treated them well. We received positive feedback from people using the service that demonstrated staff treated them with kindness and compassion.

People were supported by staff that were safely recruited. There was sufficient staff deployed throughout the service to meet people's needs. People were supported by staff that received appropriate training and support to fulfil their roles and responsibilities.

People were supported to maintain a balanced diet. Staff worked with health care professionals as and when required to promote people's safety and well-being.

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.

Opportunities were available for people and family members to share their views. Feedback received from people using the service, relatives and staff was used to drive improvement at the service.

The manager and provider were receptive to the inspection and took immediate action in response to the inspection findings.

Rating at last inspection

The last rating for the service was Requires Improvement, published on 03 November 2020. For more details, please see the full report which is on the CQC website at www.cqc.org.uk

Why we inspected

The inspection was prompted through information shared by the local authority that improvements had been made at the service. As a result, we undertook a focused inspection to review the key questions of Safe, Effective and Well-Led only. For those key questions not inspected, we used the ratings awarded at the last inspection to calculate the overall rating.

You can read the report from our last comprehensive inspection, by selecting the 'all reports' link for Elm Bank 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.