Archived: Guide Lane Nursing Home

We found the following areas of good practice.

¿ Anyone who crossed the threshold of the home was required to have their temperature taken and complete a full health risk assessment. On entry, visitors were required to complete a thorough hygiene regime.

¿ The registered manager told us they had kept the residents and families up-to-date with the current situation at the home through regular meetings, letters and phone calls.

¿ Regular testing was carried out at the home of both staff and people who used the service. There was a clear and detailed action plan in place in the event of a positive Covid-19 test. All staff and people had been risk assessed for their level of vulnerability and anyone identified as particularly vulnerable had an individual risk management plan in place. The home had a regime in place for regularly checking people's current health to quickly identify if someone was showing signs of being unwell.

¿ There was a clear policy in place for new admissions to the home; this applied whether it was a new person from the community or someone returning from a hospital stay. The registered manager ensured Covid-19 test results had been confirmed for new admissions and stated in writing prior to any admission to the home. New admissions were required to stay quarantined in their room for 14 days and barrier nursed.

¿ The home had made provision for a designated room for staff to change into and out of their uniform and safely use the required personal protective equipment (PPE). Sanitisation and PPE stations were placed around the building and where staff moved between floors, they were required to sanitise their hands and refresh their PPE.

¿ The registered manager had good links with the local CCG infection control team and public health staff. The registered manager was aware of the various current guidance for care homes about Covid-19.

¿ The home had two designated infection control and prevention champions. These two people had received extra training and were available to provide guidance to other staff members on good infection control and prevention practices at the home. The home was clean and each of the two floors had a designated housekeeper.

¿ The home had contingency plans in place for each unit in the event of any outbreak of Covid-19 or other emergency. These plans included isolation and zoning of the physical environment to minimise the potential spread of infection.

At our last inspection we rated the service good. At this inspection we found the evidence continued to support the rating of good and there was no evidence or information from our inspection and on-going monitoring that demonstrated serious risks or concerns. This inspection report is written in a shorter format because our overall rating of the service has not changed since our last inspection.

People said they felt safe at the service. Recruitment was robust at the service, there was a low turnover of staff and staffing levels were appropriate

There were appropriate safeguarding and whistle blowing policies, staff had undertaken training and were confident of the reporting procedures.

There were individual and general risk assessments which were complete and up to date and all required health and safety measures were in place. Medicines systems were safe and infection prevention and control measures were in evidence.

Care files included thorough assessments and relevant health and support information was complete and up to date. There was a thorough induction for new staff and the training matrix evidenced that mandatory and supplementary training was undertaken regularly.

The service offered a good choice of nutritious food and people were kept well hydrated with plenty of drinks throughout the day. The environment was clean and tidy, well-lit with both natural and with appropriate signage.

The service was working within the legal requirements of the Mental Capacity Act 2005 (MCA) and the Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS).

People told us staff were kind and caring and we observed staff delivering support with patience, kindness and compassion. People’s dignity and privacy was respected at all times

People, where appropriate, were involved in all aspects of their care planning and reviews.

There was information available for people who were considering using the service, and their relatives.

Care plans were person-centred and were audited on a monthly basis. There were processes in place to listen to people who used the service, relatives and staff, and respond appropriately.

There was an activities coordinator who organised and monitored a range of activities, events and trips out at the home.

Staff at the home were working to completed Six steps end of life training. This would help them to support people in line with their wishes at the end of their lives.

We saw compliments received by the home. There was a complaints policy and procedure in place, which was appropriate and up to date and was displayed prominently within the home.

Staff told us they were well supported by the management team. The registered manager held a surgery on a weekly basis that helped ensure people could come and talk to her with any concerns or suggestions.

Care staff had at least two formal supervisions per year as well as annual appraisals to evaluate their roles and look at their training and development needs. Team meetings were held on a regular basis, for different sections of staff.

The service encouraged community links and enjoyed good relationships with the local schools, nursery and church.

There were regular checks and audits undertaken at the service. All audits and checks had clearly recorded action plans and dates for completion of actions. These were signed off when completed and helped ensure the home was continually improving.

Each person living in Guide Lane Nursing Home had their individual needs fully assessed and care and treatment was then subsequently delivered in line with their individual care plan.

During our visit we had the opportunity to speak with two visiting relatives. They told us of their positive experience when first visiting the home on behalf of their relative and of the care and support that has been provided to their relative since moving in. Comments included, 'I looked around a lot of homes in the area but couldn't find any I liked. I saw this one as I passed and just called in 'on spec'. I was shown all around the home, the staff were lovely and they explained everything to me'.

All areas of the home we looked at were found to be clean, tidy and free from any unpleasant smells. All toilet and bathroom areas were found to be clean and hygienic.

People told us that they were confident in the abilities of all staff at Guide Lane Nursing Home to adequately and appropriately provide them with care and support.