Hexham Carntyne Residential Care Home

Hexham Carntyne Residential Care Home is a residential care home providing personal care for up to 19 people, including older people and people who may be living with dementia. At the time of our inspection 19 people were living at the service in adapted accommodation, including two communal lounges and a lift to upper floor bedrooms.

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

The registered manager and staff team, with support from the provider, had made improvements at the home.

Infection control procedures had improved. The provider had strengthened processes and staff were following guidance to protect people. There continued to be no outbreaks of COVID-19.

Medicines were administered to people in a safe and timely manner and updates to medicine records continued to be reviewed to make sure they were up to date.

Care plans were in place and were continuing to be fully reviewed and updated onto new paperwork. Staff knew people well and were able to support them in the way they preferred. 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.

People’s dietary needs were met, and a good range of home cooked food and refreshments were available.

Staff training had been updated to ensure staff were skilled to deal effectively with people’s care needs.

Quality monitoring systems had been updated. Staff said the management team had made many improvements and morale had improved.

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 20 May 2021) and there were two breaches of regulation. We had also placed conditions on the providers registration for the service. The provider completed an action plan after the last comprehensive inspection to show what they would do and by when to improve safe care and treatment and good governance.

Why we inspected

We undertook this focused inspection to check they had followed their action plan and to confirm they now met legal requirements. This report only covers our findings in relation to the Key Questions Safe, Effective and Well-led which contain those requirements.

The ratings from the previous comprehensive inspection for those key questions not looked at on this occasion were used in calculating the overall rating at this inspection. The overall rating for the service has improved to good. This is based on the findings at this inspection. We have found evidence that the provider has made improvements and addressed the previous breaches of regulations.

You can read the report from our last comprehensive inspection, by selecting the ‘all reports’ link for Hexham Carntyne Residential Care Home on our website at www.cqc.org.uk.

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.

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.

Hexham Carntyne Residential Care Home is a residential care home providing personal care for up to 19 people, including older people and people living with dementia. At the time of our inspection 19 people were living at the home in adapted accommodation, including two communal lounges and a lift to upper floor bedrooms.

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

Infection control procedures, particularly related to the COVID-19 pandemic were in need of immediate action. We made a referral to the infection control team to support the service. However, we noted no person at the home had contracted COVID-19 during the recent pandemic.

Medicines management procedures needed to be improved, including related records.

Robust quality assurance checks were in place but had failed to identify the issues we found during the inspection.

People had been assessed prior to moving in, and although care provided was good, reviews had not always taken place.

We have made two recommendations regarding monitoring building safety measures and training and competency checks.

People felt safe and safeguarding procedures were embedded in the service. Incidents and accidents were recorded and investigated.

People reported that staff were very kind and caring and provided them with a good service in a comfortable environment. However, staff appeared very busy at peak times and the provider was addressing this.

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. However, some work was required to ensure all consent was fully recorded.

A new manager had very recently come into post and everyone we communicated with spoke positively about them.

For more details, please see the full report which is on the CQC website at www.cqc.org.uk

Rating at last inspection

This service was registered with us on 22 May 2019 and this is the first inspection.

The last rating for the service under the previous provider was Good, published on 7 March 2018.

Why we inspected

The inspection was prompted in part due to concerns received about PPE not being always available to staff and the management oversight at the service. A decision was made for us to inspect and examine those risks. As this was the first inspection of the service, a fully comprehensive inspection was completed which covered all key questions.

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 the COVID-19 pandemic and other infection outbreaks effectively.

PPE was plentiful and available to all staff, however we found other areas of concern in which the provider needed to make improvements. Please see the relevant key question sections of this full report.

You can see what action we have asked the provider to take at the end of this full report.

Enforcement

We are mindful of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on our regulatory function. This meant we took account of the exceptional circumstances arising as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic when considering what enforcement action was necessary and proportionate to keep people safe as a result of this inspection. We will continue to monitor the service to keep people safe and to hold providers to account where it is necessary for us to do so.

We have identified two breaches of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014 in relation to safe care and treatment and the overall governance of the service.

Please see the action we have told the provider to take at the end of this report. Full information about CQC’s regulatory response to the more serious concerns found during inspections is added to reports after any representations and appeals have been concluded.

Follow up

We will request an action plan for the provider to understand what they will do to improve the standards of quality and safety. We will work alongside the provider and local authority to monitor progress. 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.