Background to this inspection
Updated
5 December 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
The inspection team was made up of two 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
The Porterbrook is a ‘care home’. 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 registered with the Care Quality Commission. This means that they and the provider are legally responsible for how the service is run and for the quality and safety of the care provided.
What we did
We reviewed information we had received about the service since the last inspection. We sought feedback from the local authority and Healthwatch Sheffield. Healthwatch is an independent consumer champion that gathers and represents the views of the public about health and social care services in England. We used this information to plan our inspection.
The provider was not asked to complete a provider information return prior to this inspection. This is information we require providers to send us to give some key information about the service, what the service does well and improvements they plan to make. We took this into account when we inspected the service and made the judgements in this report.
During the inspection
We spoke with eight people who lived at The Porterbrook and four of their relatives about their experience of the care provided. We met with the registered manager and deputy manager. We spoke with nine members of staff. We also spoke with a visiting social care professional.
We used the Short Observational Framework for Inspection (SOFI). SOFI is a way of observing care to help us understand the experience of people who could not talk with us.
We looked around the building to check environmental safety and cleanliness. We looked at written records, which included three people’s care records and five staff files. A variety of records relating to the management of the service, including policies and procedures were also reviewed.
Updated
5 December 2019
About the service
The Porterbrook is a care home providing accommodation and personal care to older people, some of whom are living with dementia. The service can support up to 44 people in one adapted building. At the time of this inspection there were 18 people living at The Porterbrook.
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. We have made a recommendation about increasing care staff knowledge regarding The Mental Capacity Act 2005.
Staff were supported in their jobs through regular supervisions and an annual appraisals. Most staff received regular training. There were some gaps on the training matrix. Plans were in place to address this.
Safe procedures were in place to make sure people received their medicines as prescribed. There were enough staff available to ensure people’s care and support needs were met in a timely way. The provider had effective recruitment procedures in place to make sure staff had the required skills and were of suitable character and background.
People told us they enjoyed the food served at The Porterbrook, which took into account their dietary needs and preferences. People were supported to access relevant health and social care professionals to ensure they were getting the care and support they needed to best meet their needs.
Positive and supportive relationships had been developed between people and staff. People were treated with dignity and respect. People’s care records reflected the person’s current health and social care needs. There was a range of activities available to people. Staff had time to spend socialising with people.
Effective systems were now in place to monitor and improve the quality of the service provided. However, we need to see these improvements developed and sustained.
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 inadequate (published 14 May 2019) and there were six breaches of regulations. At this inspection we found improvements had been made and the provider was no longer in breach of regulations.
This service has been in Special Measures since the last inspection. During this inspection the provider demonstrated that improvements have been made. The service is no longer rated as inadequate overall or in any of the key questions. Therefore, this service is no longer in Special Measures.
Why we inspected
This was a planned inspection based on the previous rating.
Follow up
We will work alongside the provider and local authority to monitor progress. 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.