Archived: Ilsom House Care Home

Updated 12 July 2019

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. This inspection was planned to check whether the provider was meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Act, to look at the overall quality of the service, and to provide a rating for the service under the Care Act 2014.

Inspection team

Our inspection was completed by one inspector and one assistant inspector.

Service and service type

Ilsom House is a 'care home' that provides care for a maximum of 38 older people. At the time of the inspection 13 people were using the service. People in care homes receive accommodation and nursing or personal care as single package under one contractual agreement. CQC regulates both the premises and the care provided, and both were looked at during this inspection.

The service had a manager who was in the process of registering with the Care Quality Commission. This means that means once they are registered they and the provider are legally responsible for how the service is run and for the quality and safety of the care provided.

Notice of inspection

The inspection was unannounced.

What we did before the site visit

We reviewed the information we had received about the service since the last inspection. This included previous inspection reports and details about incidents the provider must notify us about, such as abuse, serious injuries and deaths. We used information the provider sent us in their Provider Information Return as part of our Provider Information Collection. Providers are required to send us key information about their service, what they do well, and improvements they plan to make. This information helps support our inspections.

During the site visit

We visited Ilsom House on 28 and 29 May 2019. We spoke with the home manager, two care staff, the activities coordinator, a nurse, and three visitors to the home. We spoke with six people who used the service. We observed staff interacting with people throughout the day, including preparing and supporting people with their meals and with various organised activities. We reviewed a range of records. This included five people's care records, six staff recruitment files and staff training and supervision records. We also reviewed records relating to the management and monitoring of the service.

Following the site visit

We sought feedback from one healthcare professional and one commissioner about Ilsom House.

Updated 12 July 2019

About the service

Ilsom House is a nursing home in Gloucestershire that provides personal care for up to 38 older people, some of whom are living with dementia. At the time of our inspection 13 people were using the service.

People's experience of using this service

There were systems in place to continually monitor and audit the quality and risks in the service. The provider had addressed the concerns we found at our previous inspection. Prior to this inspection the provider and home manager had identified that some improvement to staff support is needed and that the environment could be enriched for people living with dementia. Though there were plans in place to address these shortfalls progress had been slow and the provider needed to complete their planned actions to avoid breaching a legal requirement in future and to improve the service.

The environment was clean and well maintained.

People told us they felt safe and were protected from avoidable harm by staff who understood how to keep them safe. People were supported to take their medicines safely and staff understood how to prevent the spread of infection.

People were supported to maintain relationships with people important to them, including others living in the home. People's needs were assessed to ensure they could be met by the service. Staff had a good knowledge of how to support people.

Staff were recruited safely, and there were enough staff to meet people's assessed needs.

People, relatives and health professionals told us the care provided was effective and people experienced positive outcomes. Staff respected people's rights to privacy and dignity and promoted their independence.

Systems were in place to manage and respond to any complaints or concerns raised.

Rating at last inspection

At our last comprehensive inspection of this service in July 2018, we rated the service as 'Requires Improvement'.

Why we inspected

This was a planned inspection based on the date and the rating of the previous inspection.

Follow up

We will ask the provider to keep us updated on the progress made to improve the rating of the key question 'Is the service Well-led?' to at least Good. We will also continue to monitor intelligence we receive about the service until we return to visit as per our inspection programme. If any concerning information is received we may inspect sooner.

For more details, please see the full report which is on the CQC website at www.cqc.org.uk