The Care Quality Commission
  • Care Home
  • Care home

Archived: Bernash Care Home

Overall: Requires improvement read more about inspection ratings

544-546 Wells Road, Whitchurch, Bristol, BS14 9BB (01275) 833670

Provided and run by:
Young@Heart (Bernash) Care Home Ltd

Important: The provider of this service changed. See new profile
Important: The provider of this service changed. See old profile

All Inspections

5 August 2015

During an inspection looking at part of the service

We carried out a comprehensive inspection of Bernash Care Home in February 2015. We found a breach of the legal requirements at that time. This related to care plans which did not provide clear information about the care a person required. After the inspection, the provider sent us a report of the action they would take to meet the legal requirements.

We undertook a focused inspection on 5 August 2015. This was to check on the actions taken by the provider and to confirm they now met the legal requirements. We also looked at matters arising from information we had received in recent weeks from the service and from the local authority. In particular, this information had raised concerns about how medicines were being managed and the support people received with keeping safe.

This report only covers our findings in relation to these specific areas. You can read the report from our last comprehensive inspection, by selecting the 'All reports' link for ‘Bernash Care Home’ on our website at www.cqc.org.uk

Bernash Care Home is a care home without nursing that provides personal care for up to 23 older people. The home mainly provides support for older people who are living with dementia. There were 22 people living at Bernash Care Home at the time of our inspection.

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.

We found the provider was not meeting the legal requirements in one area. This involved people’s medicines; these were not being managed in a safe way which protected people. We also found that the staffing arrangements lacked a planned approach to ensure the needs of people living with dementia were well met.

Action had been taken to improve the system of care planning and to comply with the breach made at the last inspection. However, there were aspects which were not well developed. In particular, activities were not personalised and did not fully reflect the needs of people living with dementia.

We found one breach of the regulations during our inspection. You can see what action we told the provider to take at the back of the full version of the report.

06 and 10 February 2015

During a routine inspection

The inspection took place on 6 February 2015 and 10 February 2015 and the first day of our visit was unannounced.

At our previous inspection on 17 July 2014 we asked the provider to take action to make improvements in relation to;

  • Consent to care and treatment
  • Records
  • Assessing and monitoring the quality of service provision

At this inspection, we found these actions had been completed.

Bernash Care Home is registered to provide personal care and accommodation for up to 23 people. On the day of our visit there were 14 people living at 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.

We found that the care and support some people needed was not fully assessed and this meant for these people there was a risk support was not provided in the best way for them.

There was a lack of individualised activities for people to do to provide them with occupation and relaxation. We have made a recommendation about the development of activities that may be beneficial for people who are living with dementia.

People told us they felt safe and we saw staff provided care in a safe way to them. Staff understood what the signs of possible abuse were and they knew how to report concerns about the safety of people in the home. Staff understood about the Mental Capacity Act 2005. They knew how to properly seek consent, and when people could not give this they understood that a capacity assessment would need to be carried out.

Staffing levels were calculated based on the individual needs of people living at the home. Staff were caring and experienced and had received training to assist them to undertake their role effectively.

There were safe systems in operation when new staff were recruited. New members of staff completed an induction training programme before they began working in the home.

People were able to have their friends and families visit whenever they wanted them to. We saw people have lunch with their visitors. The visitors we spoke with told us they were made to feel welcome by the staff in the home. This meant people were supported to keep in close contact with people who were important to them.

The registered manager was supported in their role by a regional manager. Both managers were aware of improvements which still needed to be made and systems to monitor the quality of the service were in place. There was an action plan in place to address improvements with timescales to ensure action was taken promptly.

We found one breach of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2010. You can see what action we told the provider to take at the back of the full version of this report.

17 July 2014

During a routine inspection

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 and to pilot a new inspection process being introduced by CQC which looks at the overall quality of the service.

Bernash Care Home provides personal care and accommodation for up to 23 older people. There were 21 people living at Bernash Care Home when we visited. 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 and has the legal responsibility for meeting the requirements of the law; as does the provider.

We found there were shortfalls in a number of areas. Improvements were needed to ensure the service kept people safe and their rights were protected. Although people’s needs were being assessed, their care plans lacked detail about the support they should receive. This meant people were at risk of receiving unsafe care.

There were other failings in relation to care planning. The information in people’s care records was not always up to date and there was a risk that people’s plans did not reflect their current needs. It was not clear who had agreed the care plans as they did not show how people and their families had been involved in the process.

Many of the staff had worked in the home for several years and this provided continuity of care for people at the home. People spoke positively about the kindness of staff and how they were treated. Staff received training which helped to ensure people were effectively supported. However the care of people living with dementia was not planned and delivered in a way which was personalised to their individual needs.

The registered manager had implemented a number of changes since coming into post. However, suitable systems were not in place for checking and monitoring the quality of the service. This meant shortfalls in the service people received were not being identified and responded to promptly.

We found a number of breaches of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2010. You can see what action we told the provider to take at the back of the full version of this report.

14 November 2013

During an inspection looking at part of the service

At the previous inspection of the home in August 2013 we had told the provider that improvements were needed in order to meet the standard, 'supporting staff'. We had found that the arrangements made for staff training and supervision lacked a consistent and planned approach. After the inspection, we received a plan from the manager which set out the actions that were to be taken to meet this standard.

We checked Bernash Care Home again on 14 November 2013 and found that improvements had been made. In particular, a staff training plan had been produced for the year ahead. This was based on a program of learning that was provided in conjunction with an external training provider.

We heard positive comments from the people who used the service about the way that staff went about their work. We were told that there was an experienced staff team and that the care workers had a friendly and caring approach. The care staff we met with told us that they felt supported in their work.

9 August 2013

During a routine inspection

People said that staff treated them with dignity and respect. One person for example told us that they were 'an independent person' and they received support in the way that they wanted. We found that staff engaged well with people and provided care in a person centred way.

People we spoke with were appreciative of the care and support they received at the home. Their comments about the staff included 'all very good' and one person told us 'if they weren't up to the job then I wouldn't still be here'. We found however that the arrangements being made for staff training and support lacked a consistent and planned approach.

People told us that they felt safe living at the home. We found that standards were being checked so that people received a service that was suitable for their needs. Areas in need of attention had been identified and the manager was working through these at the time of our inspection.