Inspire Neurocare Worcester

Updated 16 February 2024

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 Health and Social Care Act 2008.

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 carried out by 2 inspectors and a specialist pharmacist. An Expert by Experience made calls offsite the following day of inspection. 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

Inspire Neurocare Worcester is a ‘care home’. People in care homes receive accommodation and nursing and/or personal care as a single package under one contractual agreement dependent on their registration with us. Inspire Neurocare Worcester is a care home with nursing care. CQC regulates both the premises and the care provided, and both were looked at during this inspection.

Registered Manager

This provider is required to have a registered manager to oversee the delivery of regulated activities at this location. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission to manage the service. Registered managers and providers are legally responsible for how the service is run, for the quality and safety of the care provided and compliance with regulations.

At the time of our inspection there was no registered manager in post. The provider had appointed a manager who was currently going through the process of registering with the CQC.

Notice of inspection

This inspection was unannounced.

What we did before the inspection

We reviewed information we had received about the service since the last inspection. We sought feedback from the local authority. We also requested feedback from Healthwatch to obtain their views of the service. Healthwatch is an independent consumer champion that gathers and represents the views of the public about health and social care services in England. We used all this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection

We spoke with 3 people using the service and 8 family members. We spoke with 12 staff members including the Interim Home Manager, Interim General Manager, Quality Service Lead, Director of Operations, Regional Operations Manager, 4 care workers and 3 nurses. We spoke with 1 visiting professional. We reviewed a range of records in relation to 6 people's care, including 12 medicine administration records and care plans. We also reviewed a range of records held by the service including, staff training and rotas, recruitment records, temporary staff records, meeting minutes, surveys, handover documents and provider audits.

Updated 16 February 2024

About the service

Inspire Neurocare Worcester is a specialist neurological care home providing personal and nursing care to up to 43 people. At the time of our inspection there were 20 people using the service. The home is split across 2 floors.

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

Governance oversight and quality assurance systems required further improvements to ensure the provider identified shortfalls in the delivery of people’s care in line with their care plans.

People had detailed care plans in place which provided staff with information about their health needs, choices and preferences and how they would like these to be met. However, these were not always consistently followed.

Despite some of our findings, the management and staff team had made improvements at the service since our last visit. People, staff and families were more involved in the running of the service.

Since our last inspection there had been significant improvements in the management and processes of medicines.

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.

Activities, community access and community links had developed and people were experiencing more vocational opportunities and their wishes and hobbies were being explored.

The provider understood their legal responsibilities and when to be open and honest when things went wrong, incidents were shared with the CQC. The provider worked in partnership with other agencies and people had access to healthcare services.

The environment was clean, spacious in design and accommodated people's needs. People were supported by caring and considerate staff, and we observed positive interactions.

The management team started to review some of their processes to make improvements regarding the inspection findings feedback.

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 Inadequate (published 30 November 2023). 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 in certain areas, however the provider had continued breaches in regulations 9, 12 and 17.

Why we inspected

We undertook a focused inspection to review the key questions of safe, effective and well-led only. For those key questions not inspected, we used the ratings awarded at the last inspection to calculate the overall rating.

The overall rating for the service has changed from inadequate to requires improvement based on the findings of this inspection.

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

Enforcement

We have identified continued breaches in relation to safe care and treatment, person centred care and governance at this inspection.

Follow up

We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service, which will help inform when we next inspect.