We carried out a review of the data available to us about Spinney (The) 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 Spinney (The), you can give feedback on this service.
We found the following examples of good practice.
¿ The provider had appropriate arrangements for visiting to help prevent the spread of infection. All visitors were required to have their temperature taken before they entered the care home. Visitors were supported to wear a face covering when visiting. Hand washing facilities and hand sanitizer stations were available near the entrance and throughout the care home.
¿ The provider had appropriate arrangements to test people and staff for COVID- 19 and was following government guidance on testing. There was a designated team that administered the tests for people using the service and for staff. This ensured that people and staff were tested for COVID- 19 in a consistent way in line with national guidance.
¿ The provider ensured that staff received appropriate training and support to help prevent the spread of infection. All staff had received training on infection control and the use of PPE. Staff were assigned to work on the same floors to help minimise the risk of cross infection. Staff wellbeing was supported when they became unwell and when they returned to work.
¿ The provider ensured that people using the service could maintain links with family members and friends. People were supported to have visits from their relatives and friends in a designated area in the garden where social distancing was observed. Family members and friends who were unable to visit the home could stay in touch with people with phone and video messaging. The provider understood the communication needs of people. For example, the provider sourced a phone application that converted voice into large text for people who were hearing and sight impaired.
¿ People at extreme risk and those isolating were supported in creative ways, including recruiting an additional activities coordinator so more activities could be offered to people over the national lockdown period in response to the COVID- 19 pandemic.
Further information is in the detailed findings below.
Spinney (The) is a residential care home providing personal care to 43 people aged 65 and over at the time of the inspection. The care home accommodates people over three floors in one adapted building with a lift. The service can support up to 48 people.
People’s experience of using this service and what we found
People were supported by kind and caring staff who treated people as individuals and with dignity and respect. The provider had robust recruitment systems to ensure staff were safely recruited. Staff spoke knowledgably about the systems in place to safeguard people from abuse. People were supported by staff who were inducted, trained and supervised.
People told us they felt safe and systems were in place to safeguard people. Risks to them were identified and managed. Where required people were safely supported with their medicines. Infection control measures were in place to prevent cross infection. The support required by people with health and nutritional needs was identified and provided.
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.
People’s privacy and independence were promoted. Systems were in place to deal with concerns and complaints. This enabled people to raise concerns about their care if they needed to.
People had person centred support plans in place. They were actively involved in their care and contributed to the development of care plans and reviews. People had staff support to access activities in the home and the community. People’s communication needs were identified, and their end of life wishes were explored and recorded.
The provider had effective quality assurance systems to monitor the quality and safety of the care provided. People were asked for their views and their feedback used to improve the service and make any necessary changes.
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 20 March 2018).
Why we inspected
This was a planned inspection based on the previous rating.
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.
The Spinney provides accommodation for up to 48 older people living with dementia in one adapted building over three floors with a lift. There were 44 people living at the home when we visited. The Spinney 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.
There was a registered manager at the service at the time of our inspection. 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 and associated Regulations about how the service is run.
People and their relatives told us they felt the service was safe, and the care received was good. We found staff had a good understanding of their responsibility with regard to safeguarding adults from abuse.
Risk assessments were in place which provided guidance on how to support people safely. Medicines were managed in a safe manner. There were sufficient numbers of suitable staff employed by the service in order to meet people’s needs. Staff had been recruited safely with appropriate checks on their backgrounds completed. The home environment was clean and the home was free of malodour.
Staff told us the service had an open and inclusive atmosphere and the registered manager and deputy manager were approachable and open. The service had various quality assurance and monitoring mechanisms in place.
The Spinney provides accommodation for up to 48 older people living with dementia. There were 44 people living at the home when we visited.
The service had a manager who had been in place since January 2017. They were about to start the process of applying to become the registered manager of 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.
At this inspection we found one breach of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014. You can see what action we asked the provider to take at the back of the full version of this report.
Recruitment and selection procedures were not always carried out in line with the provider’s policy and procedure and may have placed people using the service at risk of harm by unsafe recruitment and selection practices.
The experiences of people who lived at the home were positive. People told us they felt safe living at the home, staff were kind and compassionate and the care they received was good. Staff had a good understanding of their responsibility with regard to safeguarding adults.
People’s needs were assessed and their preferences identified as much as possible across all aspects of their care. Risks were identified and plans were in place to monitor and reduce risks. People had access to relevant health professionals when they needed them. Medicines were stored and administered safely.
Staff undertook training and received one to one supervision to help support them to provide effective care. The manager and staff we spoke with had a good understanding of the Mental Capacity Act 2005 (MCA) and Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS). MCA and DoLS is law protecting people who are unable to make decisions for themselves or whom the state has decided their liberty needs to be deprived in their own best interests.
People told us they liked the food provided and we saw people were able to choose what they ate and drank.
People’s needs were assessed and met in a personalised manner. Care plans were in place which included information about how to meet a person’s individual and assessed needs. People’s cultural and religious needs were respected when planning and delivering care. Discussions with staff members showed that they respected people’s sexual orientation so that lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people could feel accepted and welcomed in the service.
The service had a complaints procedure in place and we found that complaints were investigated and where possible resolved to the satisfaction of the complainant.
Staff told us the service had an open and inclusive atmosphere and senior staff were approachable and accessible. The service had various quality assurance and monitoring mechanisms in place. These included surveys, audits and staff and resident meetings.
We inspected The Spinney on 17 February 2015. This was an unannounced inspection. At the last inspection in January 2014 the service was found to be meeting the regulations we looked at.
The Spinney provides accommodation for up to 48 older people who have dementia care needs. There were 43 people living at the home when we visited. There was a registered manager at the service at the time of our inspection. 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 and associated Regulations about how the service is run.
The experiences of people who lived at the home were positive. People told us they felt safe living at the home, staff were kind and compassionate and the care they received was good. We found staff had a good understanding of their responsibility with regard to safeguarding adults.
People’s needs were assessed and their preferences identified as much as possible across all aspects of their care. Risks were identified and plans in place to monitor and reduce risks. People had access to relevant health professionals when they needed them. Medicines were stored and administered safely. The service was not always following good practice when special monitoring was needed for people's prescribed anti-psychotic medicines, as these can place people with dementia at risk of serious side effects, such as a stroke as well as increasing the risk of falls.
Staff undertook training and received one to one supervision to help support them to provide effective care. The registered manager and staff we spoke with had a good understanding of the Mental Capacity Act 2005 (MCA) and Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS). MCA and DoLS is law protecting people who are unable to make decisions for themselves or whom the state has decided their liberty needs to be deprived in their own best interests. People told us they liked the food provided and we saw people were able to choose what they ate and drank. People had access to health care professionals as appropriate.
People’s needs were assessed and met in a personalised manner. We found that care plans were in place which included information about how to meet a person’s individual and assessed needs. The service had a complaints procedure in place and we found that complaints were investigated and where possible resolved to the satisfaction of the complainant.
The service had a registered manager in place and a management structure with clear lines of accountability. Staff told us the service had an open and inclusive atmosphere and senior staff were approachable and accessible. The service had various quality assurance and monitoring mechanisms in place. These included surveys, audits and staff and resident meetings.
People's needs were assessed and reviewed every month to ensure people received safe and appropriate care. Care plans were thorough and addressed all aspects of daily living for each person. There were arrangements in place for dealing with foreseeable emergencies.
Medicines were observed to be handled safely, securely and administered correctly by staff who had received appropriate training.
We saw that there were safe effective recruitment procedures in place to ensure that people's needs were met by staff that were fit and trained to do their job.
People we spoke with were confident their concerns and complaints were listened to and acted upon. One person said, ''I had a concern about my meal; the cook was fantastic she just sorted it there and then, they will do whatever they can for you.''
One relative we spoke to told us the care "couldn't be better." We found people suffering from dementia were supported by staff to engage in stimulating activities. People were in a stimulating and tactile environment that supported their individual needs.
We found staff were qualified and experienced to undertake the roles they were employed to do. However we found that there were not always a sufficient number of staff in the night to meet the needs of people who used the service.
We found the provider had an effective system to regularly assess and monitor the quality of service that people receive. There was evidence the views of people and their relatives were sought and the information gathered was used to make informed decisions about the quality of the service provided.