Glendon House

Updated 24 March 2021

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 coronavirus pandemic we are looking at the preparedness of care homes in relation to infection prevention and control. This was a targeted inspection looking at the infection control and prevention measures the provider has in place.

This inspection took place on 4 March 2021 and was announced.

Updated 24 March 2021

Glendon House is a ‘care home’. People in care homes receive accommodation and 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. Glendon House accommodates up to 36 people, some of whom may be living with dementia, in one adapted building. At the time of our comprehensive unannounced inspection on 24 April 2018 there were 29 people living in the home.

There was a registered manager in post. 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 were cared for in a compassionate way by staff who understood their care needs. People and their relatives were involved in the planning of their care and people’s care records reflected their personal preferences. People’s care records were reviewed regularly and updated when people’s care needs changed. Assessments were carried out prior to people living in Glendon House to ascertain if the service was the most suitable for them.

Support from other professionals was sought where concerns were identified about a person’s health or wellbeing needs. Information about people’s healthcare needs was shared appropriately with other professionals to ensure continuity of care.

Staff supported people to be as independent as possible and people would assist staff with daily tasks in the home. Adapted equipment to aid independent eating and mobilising was provided for people.

People were cared for in a way that promoted their dignity and privacy and staff took steps to ensure that this was maintained.

The CQC is required to monitor the Mental Capacity Act (MCA) 2005 Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS) and report on what we find. MCA assessments had been carried out and staff understood the importance of giving people choice about their care.

Risks to people and within the environment were identified and continually assessed. Staff understood how to mitigate people’s individual risks and what their responsibilities were in relation to maintaining a safe environment. People’s dependency was regularly assessed to inform the number of staff required to support them safely. There were consistently enough staff deployed to care for people.

People’s medicines were stored, administered and managed in a safe way. Records relating to people’s medicines were complete and staff had undertaken training in the safe management of medicines.

The home was clean throughout and staff observed infection control procedures. The kitchen was clean and safe food hygiene practices were in place.

Mealtimes were a relaxed and people were given a choice of meals. People’s meals were prepared according to their nutritional needs. Monitoring of people’s food and fluid intake was in place where people were at risk of not maintaining a healthy nutritional intake.

Staff understood what constituted abuse and what procedure they would follow to report any concerns. Staff also received training in safeguarding. Recruitment processes ensured that appropriate employment checks were carried out to ensure suitable staff were employed.

Staff received training relevant to their role and were supported to access further training to develop their knowledge and practice. There was an induction programme in place for new staff which included shadowing experienced staff and the completion of the provider’s mandatory training.

There was a variety of activities provided for people to take part in and staff had enough time to engage with people to follow their interests. People were supported to maintain relationships with their family and friends. There were no restrictions about when people could have visitors and there were a number of communal rooms where people and their visitors could spend time together.

There was clear and visible leadership in place. The registered manager was approachable and visible, as was the deputy manager and area manager. Staff felt supported in their role and the morale amongst the staff was good.

There were processes in place to involve people and their relatives in the running of the home. Further improvements were planned to ensure that people’s views on the service were sought and acted upon.

A range of effective quality monitoring systems were in place to monitor and assess the quality of service being delivered. Action was taken where shortfalls had been identified.