Elmwood House Nursing Home

Updated 5 February 2022

We carried out this inspection under Section 60 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 as part of our regulatory functions. This inspection was planned to check whether the provider is meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Health and Social Care Act 2008.

As part of CQC’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic we are looking at how services manage infection control and visiting arrangements. This was a targeted inspection looking at the infection prevention and control measures the provider had in place. We also asked the provider about any staffing pressures the service was experiencing and whether this was having an impact on the service.

This inspection took place on 20 January 2022 and was announced. We gave the service 24 hours’ notice of the inspection.

Updated 5 February 2022

About the service

Elmwood House Nursing Home is a residential care home providing personal and nursing care to 30 people aged 65 and over at the time of the inspection. The service can support up to 43 people.

People’s experience of using this service and what we found

The registered manager was no longer in post. However, the provider had ensured there was a temporary manager in post and an application for their registration was in process. Whilst staff spoke highly of the manager, some were uncertain about future leadership of the service. The provider had plans in place to ensure staff were supported whilst they recruited a new manager. There were effective quality monitoring systems in place which identified shortfalls in the service. People, staff and relatives were involved in the service.

Relatives, staff and people told us they felt there weren’t always enough staff. People told us they felt safe using the service and they received support with medicines from staff. Staff knew how to keep people safe and information about how to raise a concern was accessible. Measures were in place to reduce the risk of infection to people.

People’s dietary needs were met, and they had food they enjoyed. People’s needs had been assessed prior to admission to the service. Staff received induction and ongoing training. The service had undergone a large refurbishment and the environment met the needs of people. People had access to ongoing health care service and had their capacity assessed where required.

Whilst some staff interacted with people positively, others showed a lack of interaction. People felt they were supported and treated well. Staff considered people’s dignity and spoke to them with respect. People were encouraged to maintain their independence and skills.

People had personalised care plans in place. Information was accessible to people in different formats. People enjoyed activities they took part in, but people felt this lacked at times. The provider had a complaints policy and informal concerns were recorded. People’s end of life wishes was recorded and relatives spoke highly of end of life care delivered.

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.

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 requires improvement (published 27 March 2019) and we found a breach of regulation relating to governance in the service. The provider completed an action plan after the last inspection to show what they would do and by when to improve.

At this inspection we found improvements had been made and the provider was no longer in breach of regulations.

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.