We carried out a review of the data available to us about Branksome Heights on 6 July 2023. We have not found evidence that we need to carry out an inspection or reassess our rating at this stage.
This could change at any time if we receive new information. We will continue to monitor data about this service.
If you have concerns about Branksome Heights, you can give feedback on this service.
• Branksome Heights is a residential care home.
• The home accommodates up to 46 people in one purpose built building.
• At the time of our inspection 35 people were living at the home.
People’s experience of using this service:
• The provider had made good improvements to the service since our inspection in January and February 2018.
• People were safely protected from the potential risk of abuse, and staff were clear on how to identify and report concerns.
• Medicines were now well managed to ensure that people received them safely and in line with best practice.
• Quality assurance systems had improved to ensure that any improvements required were promptly identified and implemented.
• Sufficient risk assessments were in place to ensure that people were safely supported.
• People received support in order to meet their nutritional needs, with good access to other healthcare professionals.
• People’s capacity to consent had been assessed in line with legal requirements and their care was now delivered within this framework.
• People told us that staff were kind, compassionate and attentive to their needs.
• People were treated with dignity and respect.
• Activities were provided to ensure people received appropriate stimulation, and people were consulted on their views about their care.
• The service met the characteristics for a rating of “good” in all the key questions we inspected. Therefore, our overall rating for the service after this inspection was “good”.
• More information is in our full report.
Rating at last inspection:
• At our last inspection, the service was rated “requires improvement”. Our last report was published on 5 April 2018.
Why we inspected:
• All services rated "requires improvement" are re-inspected within one year of the publication of their last inspection report.
• This inspection was part of our scheduled plan of visiting services to check the safety and quality of care people received.
Follow up:
• We will continue to monitor the service to ensure that people receive safe, compassionate, high quality care. Further inspections will be planned in line with scheduling priorities and monitoring information.
Branksome Heights was registered for 46 people. There were 31 older people living in the home at the start of our inspection. People had a variety of care and support needs related to their physical and mental health.
This unannounced inspection took place on the 18 January and the 6 February 2018. We made further calls to gather evidence on the 7 and 9 February 2018. This was our first inspection of the service.
There was a registered manager for the service. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission to manage the service. Like registered providers, they are ‘registered persons’. Registered persons have legal responsibility for meeting the requirements in the Health and Social Care Act 2008 and associated Regulations about how the service is run. The registered manager had left the service and had applied to deregister at the time of our inspection. A new manager had been appointed.
People told us they saw health care professionals when necessary. However, people’s needs related to their healthcare and health emergencies were not always shared and recorded. This put people at risk of not receiving the treatment they needed. People did not always receive their medicines as they were prescribed. The provider put robust plans into action to respond to these concerns.
Staff encouraged people to make decisions about their lives. However care plans did not always reflected that care was being delivered within the framework of the Mental Capacity Act 2005 and Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards had not been applied for when necessary. People were at risk of receiving care that was not in their best interests or was overly restrictive. The provider started a review of all relevant care plans during our inspection.
Quality assurance systems had not been effective in identifying the issues identified during our inspection. Auditing processes were updated to ensure they would be more effective.
People and relatives felt that they were listened to and their views were considered and acted upon.
The environment was clean and well maintained. We have made a recommendation about reflecting research around environmental support for people living with dementia.
People told us they received the care and support they needed. They felt safe. They were protected from harm because staff understood the risks people faced and how to reduce these risks. Measures to reduce risk reflected the person’s preferences. Staff also knew how to identify and respond to abuse and told us they would whistleblow if it was necessary.
Everyone described the food as good and there were systems in place to ensure people had enough to eat and drink. We have made a recommendation about ensuring staff understanding of people's needs is consistent.
Care staff were consistent in their knowledge of people’s on going care needs and spoke confidently about the support people needed to meet these needs. They told us they felt supported in their roles and had taken training that provided them with the necessary knowledge and skills. There was a plan in place to ensure staff received refresher training as deemed necessary by the provider.
People had support and care when they needed it from staff who had been safely recruited.
People were engaged with activities that reflected their preferences, including individual and group activities. There were plans in place and training scheduled to develop the activities available to people.
People were positive about the care they received from the home and told us the staff were kind. Staff were cheerful and treated people and visitors with respect and kindness throughout our inspection. Records were sometimes written in language that did not respect people. We have made a recommendation about this.
There were breaches of regulation with respect of safe care and treatment and the application of the Mental Capacity Act 2005 and the governance of the service. You can see what action we told the provider to take at the back of the full version of the report.