Melton House

Updated 22 March 2022

We carried out this inspection under Section 60 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 as part of our regulatory functions. This inspection was planned to check whether the provider is meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Health and Social Care Act 2008.

As part of CQC’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic we are looking at how services manage infection control and visiting arrangements. We also received information of concern about visiting arrangements at this service. This was a targeted inspection looking at the infection prevention and control measures the provider had in place. We also asked the provider about any staffing pressures the service was experiencing and whether this was having an impact on the service.

This inspection took place on 16 February 2022 and was announced on the morning of the inspection.

Updated 22 March 2022

About the service

Melton House is a residential care home providing personal and nursing care for up to 67 older people some of whom may live with dementia. The care home accommodates people over three floors in a purpose built building. At the time of the inspection there were 26 people living at the service.

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

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. A new system was being introduced to address this.

Safeguarding systems were in place. There were enough staff to meet people’s needs. Safe recruitment processes were followed. Staff received training appropriate to their role, to develop their skills and knowledge. Staff said they received regular supervision and felt supported.

Care plans contained person-centred information about people’s care needs. Staff had developed caring relationships with people and respected their privacy and dignity.

Arrangements were in place to ensure medicines were managed safely. People had access to appropriate healthcare professionals to support their wellbeing. People were supported to eat and drink sufficient amounts to maintain their health.

Contact between people and relatives had been maintained in a variety of ways during the pandemic and changes in government guidance on visiting had been responded to appropriately. Surveys had been given to relatives during planned visits, but they had not yet been analysed for findings.

A number of staff did not consistently follow government guidance regarding infection prevention and control, including hand washing and the safe doffing of PPE. IPC audits were effective in identifying concerns and action was taken.

Quality assurance and governance processes were in place and various audits were completed. We found some shortfalls in recording which the provider took immediate action to address.

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 09 January 2018).

Why we inspected

The inspection was prompted in part due to concerns received about safeguarding, infection prevention and control and staffing. A decision was made for us to inspect and examine those risks.

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 continue to monitor information we receive about the service until we return to visit as per our re-inspection programme. If we receive any concerning information we may inspect sooner.