Archived: Ilsom House Care Home

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

Ilsom House provides nursing, residential, and respite care for up to 38 people. People in care homes receive accommodation and nursing or personal care as a single package under one contractual agreement. CQC regulates both the premises and the care provided, and both were looked at during this inspection. At the time of our inspection 25 people were living there.

Ilsom House provides accommodation over two floors with bedrooms located on the ground and first floors. There was a passenger lift and stairs to access both floors.

Ilsom House Care Home was registered under a new legal entity on 31 January 2017 and this is the first inspection of the home since then. Staff and the registered manager at Ilsom House transferred across to the new owner and remain in post at the home. At the time of this inspection, the home was beginning the transition toward operating within the HC One infrastructure. For example, the systems and policies in use had yet to changeover, so belonged to the previous owner. The changeover process was expected to be completed within six months.

There was a registered manager. 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.

People told us they felt safe living at the service. Staff knew how to keep people safe from harm but the way in which staff were deployed sometimes resulted in lack of support for people. The registered manager is reviewing this. Staff had been employed following appropriate recruitment and selection processes. People lived in a safe environment but we have made a recommendation to support the manager to develop a dementia friendly environment.

People made most decisions and choices about their care when possible. When people did not have the capacity to make decisions staff followed the Mental Capacity Act guidance to protect them. People had access to healthcare professionals and their health and welfare was monitored by them.

People were treated with kindness and respect. They told us staff were kind when they supported them with their care. People were supported by staff that were well trained and had access to training to develop their knowledge.

People joined in with activities provided which included musical entertainment, crafts and exercises. People also had some engagement with the local community.

The registered manager was approachable with people and their relatives. The registered manager monitored the quality of the service, supported the staff team and ensured that people who used the service were able to make suggestions and raise concerns. We saw from recent audits that the registered manager was making progress in improving the quality of the service but some areas still required improvement.