• Care Home
  • Care home

Ampersand

Overall: Requires improvement read more about inspection ratings

Parsonage Lane, Rochester, Kent, ME2 4HP (01634) 561014

Provided and run by:
Sovereign Care Limited

Important: The provider of this service changed - see old profile

Latest inspection summary

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Background to this inspection

Updated 2 August 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 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

Ampersand 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. Ampersand 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 who commission the service. We also sought feedback from Healthwatch. Healthwatch is an independent consumer champion that gathers and represents the views of the public about health and social care services in England. Healthwatch told us they had not visited the service or received any comments or concerns since the last inspection. A local authority commissioner told us they had carried out a quality assurance visit.

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 8 people who used the service about their experience of the care provided. We spoke with 3 people's relatives. We observed staff interactions with people and their care and support in communal areas. We spoke with 8 members of staff, including; care staff, activities staff, senior care staff, the deputy manager and the registered manager.

We reviewed a range of records. This included 11 people's care records and multiple medicines records. We looked at 3 staff files in relation to recruitment and staff supervision. A variety of records relating to the management of the service, including policies, procedures and audits were reviewed.

Overall inspection

Requires improvement

Updated 2 August 2023

About the service

Ampersand is a residential care home providing accommodation for persons who require nursing or personal care to up to 43 people. The service provides support to older people, some of who lived with dementia. At the time of our inspection there were 35 people using the service, 1 of whom was in hospital during the inspection.

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

The service was not always well led. Records were not always robust and accurate. The provider’s audits and checks had failed to identify issues relating to risk assessments, medicines management, infection control and safe recruitment practice. Their quality monitoring processes had not identified issues with records that we found on inspection.

Risks to people's safety had not always been identified. Risk assessments did not have all the information staff needed to keep people safe. Medicines management was poor. The provider could not be assured that people had received their medicines as prescribed. Some areas of the service were not clean.

People could not be assured new staff were adequately checked to ensure they were suitable to work with people to keep them safe. We found no evidence that people had been harmed. However, systems were not robust enough to demonstrate staff recruitment was effectively managed. We were not fully assured that staff were deployed effectively across the service. We have made a recommendation about this.

Despite the feedback above, people and relatives told us staff were kind, caring and friendly. Comments included, “They are all very nice and very respectful. They always call me by my name”; “They are excellent, very friendly and kind. They will get me anything” and “I have been here a long time and am used to it. I am happy here. The staff make me feel safe here.”

Staff understood their responsibilities to protect people from abuse. Staff described what abuse meant and told us how they would respond and report if they witnessed anything untoward.

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 and update

The last rating for this service was requires improvement (published 26 October 2019).

The provider completed an action plan after the last inspection to show what they would do and by when to improve.

At this inspection we found the provider remained in breach of regulations. This service has been rated requires improvement for the last 4 consecutive inspections.

Why we inspected

We carried out an inspection of this service on 21 August 2019. A breach of legal requirements was found. This inspection was carried out to follow up on action we told the provider to take at the last 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.

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 service has remained requires improvement based on the findings of this inspection.

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.

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

Enforcement and Recommendations

We have identified breaches in relation to risk management, infection control, medicines management, safe recruitment practice and good governance at this inspection. We have made a recommendation about staff deployment.

Please see the action we have told the provider to take at the end of this report. Full information about CQC’s regulatory response to the more serious concerns found during inspections is added to reports after any representations and appeals have been concluded.

Follow up

We will meet with the provider following this report being published to discuss how they will make changes to ensure they improve their rating to at least good. We will work with the local authority to monitor progress. We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service, which will help inform when we next inspect.