Bowes House

Updated 5 June 2021

The inspection

We carried out this inspection under Section 60 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (the Act) as part of our regulatory functions. We checked whether the provider was meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Act. We looked at the overall quality of the service and provided a rating for the service under the Care Act 2014.

As part of this inspection we looked at the infection control and prevention measures in place. This was conducted so we can understand the preparedness of the service in preventing or managing an infection outbreak, and to identify good practice we can share with other services.

Inspection team

The inspection was undertaken by four inspectors and an Expert by Experience. An Expert by Experience is a person who has personal experience of using or caring for someone who uses this type of care service.

Service and service type

Bowes House is a ‘care home’. People in care homes receive accommodation and nursing or personal care as a single package under one contractual agreement. CQC regulates both the premises and the care provided, and both were looked at during this inspection.

The service did not have a manager registered with the Care Quality Commission. The manager was in the process of applying to CQC to become the registered manager of the service. The provider is legally responsible for how the service is run and for the quality and safety of the care provided.

Notice of inspection

We gave a short period of notice of the inspection. This was to establish the safest and most appropriate way of carrying out our inspection visit during the COVID-19 pandemic.

What we did before the inspection

We reviewed information we had about the service. The provider was not asked to complete a provider information return prior to this inspection. This is information we require providers to send us to give some key information about the service, what the service does well and improvements they plan to make. We took this into account when we inspected the service and made the judgements in this report.

We asked the provider to send us information. These included risk assessments and care plans for five people, and documents relating to quality assurance systems and management oversight. We also sought feedback from partner agencies and professionals. We used all of this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection

We spoke with two people and nine members of staff, including the manager, unit managers, nurses, the chef and health care assistants. We spent time in the home whilst people were relaxing in the communal lounge and receiving support. This gave us an opportunity to observe staff interactions with people.

We reviewed a range of records including care plans, risk assessments and medicine administration records. We also looked at records relating to the management of the service, policies and procedures and quality assurance systems.

After the inspection

We spoke with seven relatives and three staff members by telephone, to obtain their feedback and views about the home. We continued to seek clarification from the provider to validate evidence found.

Updated 5 June 2021

About the service

Bowes House is a residential care home providing personal and nursing care to 81 people aged 65 and over at the time of the inspection. The service can support up to 90 people. The building is divided into four units, each providing specialist support. There are two units for older persons on the ground floor. On the first floor there is a unit providing nursing care and another for people living with dementia.

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

People and their relatives spoke highly of the care and support they received at Bowes House. One person said, “I am very happy with the care, I wouldn’t want to change anything.” A relative told us, “Staff have provided excellent care, promoting dignity and being responsive to people’s needs.”

People were receiving their medicines safely. There were effective systems in place for the management of medicines. Risks to people were assessed and care plans provided clear guidance for staff in how to care for people safely. Staff had received appropriate training and demonstrated an understanding of how to support people who were assessed as being at risk of choking.

There were enough staff to care for people and the process for recruiting new staff was safe. Appropriate infection control procedures for COVID-19 were in place to keep people safe. Staff had received additional training and used appropriate Personal Protective Equipment. Incidents and accidents were used as opportunities to learn and improve practice.

Systems for monitoring quality and managing risks had been improved and embedded. There were effective arrangements to support governance and to provide management oversight. Staff told us there had been improvements in the management of the home. One staff member said, “The new manager has been implementing policy which is good. We are going through good 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 22 March 2019).

Why we inspected

We received concerns in relation to the management of medicines and management of risks of choking. As a result, we undertook a focused inspection to review the key questions of Safe and Well-led only.

We looked at infection prevention and control measures under the Safe key question. We look at this in all care home inspections even if no concerns or risks have been identified. This is to provide assurance that the service can respond to COVID-19 and other infection outbreaks effectively.

We reviewed the information we held about the service. No areas of concern were identified in the other key questions. We therefore did not inspect them. Ratings from previous comprehensive inspections for those key questions were used in calculating the overall rating at this inspection.

The overall rating for the service has remained good. This is based on the findings at this inspection. We found no evidence during this inspection that people were at risk of harm from these concerns. The provider had identified shortfalls and taken action to mitigate the risks and this had been effective. Please see the Safe and Well led sections of this full report.

You can read the report from our last comprehensive inspection, by selecting the ‘all reports’ link for Bowes House on our website at www.cqc.org.uk.

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.