Chaucer House

Chaucer House is a nursing home providing personal and nursing care to up to 60 people. The service provides support to people with physical disabilities, sensory impairment, and dementia. At the time of our inspection there were 45 people using the service.

Care Homes

Chaucer House is a large, purpose-built building close to Canterbury city centre. It accommodates up to 60 people across two different floors, each of which had separate adapted facilities. One of the floors specialises in providing care to people living with dementia, and the other for people with nursing needs.

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

People were supported by staff who knew how to keep them safe. Staff were recruited safely and there were enough staff to support people. Checks were carried out to ensure the premises were safe and to minimise the spread of infection. Lessons were learnt when things went wrong.

People’s needs were assessed and delivered in line with best practice. People were seen by different healthcare professionals whose guidance was followed by staff, such as fortifying or changing the consistency of meals. Staff were well trained and supported by colleagues and management. The spacious environment was easily accessible and ‘dementia friendly.’

The relationship between people and staff was kind and compassionate. People were in control of how they wanted to be supported and people were encouraged to be as independent as possible. Staff were respectful of people’s privacy, treated people with dignity. They worked with them to maintain relationships and meet their spiritual and cultural needs.

Staff knew people well and put measures in place to enable people to communicate in their own way. People were able to speak to staff if they had any worries or concerns and staff updated people’s families as and when needs changed. People were encouraged to pursue their interests and hobbies, and to try new activities. People’s end of life wishes were respected.

The provider was easily accessible to people and staff and had great oversight of Chaucer House. There were a series of checks carried out to make sure people were safe and supported. Management embraced a learning culture and had invested in a variety of innovative projects to improve outcomes for people.

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.

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

Why we inspected

This service was registered with us on 16 March 2020 and this is the first inspection.

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, which will help inform when we next inspect.