28 January 2021
During an inspection looking at part of the service
We found the following examples of good practice.
The registered manager was following the government’s guidance on whole home testing for people and staff. This included weekly testing and rapid testing for staff. Consent was gained from people each time prior to testing. Where consent was not gained from people using the service, they were not tested. This only occurred with one person and alternative arrangements were put in place to reduce risk.
Staff had received training on the use of personal protective equipment (PPE) and infection control practices and processes were in place to minimise the spread of infection. There was an adequate supply of PPE.
Arrangements were in place to enable people's families to visit them. Risks were assessed and vacant facilities were used to reduce risk.
Increased cleaning regimes had been introduced including hard surface contact cleaning hourly.
Contingency plans were in place to ensure effective management of an outbreak, including use of a vacant bungalow for staff to stay over, staff working in teams and changed shift patterns to reduce footfall.
All people using the service had received their first Covid-19 vaccination.
People living at the service were in receipt of the Department of Health free winter supply of vitamin D. This is particularly important as individuals had been indoors for unusual extended periods due to measures introduced to stop the spread of Covid-19. The supplement supports people's general health.
Arrangements were in place to ensure fire prevention measures, systems and equipment were in place and working properly. Staff had received training in fire safety evacuation procedures.
Rating at last inspection
The last rating for this service was requires improvement (published 6 July 2019).
Why we inspected
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 coronavirus and other infection outbreaks effectively.
CQC have introduced targeted inspections to follow up on Warning Notices or to check specific concerns. They do not look at an entire key question, only the part of the key question we are specifically concerned about. Targeted inspections do not change the rating from the previous inspection. This is because they do not assess all areas of a key question.
The last comprehensive inspection found risks around fire safety and a breach of regulation 12 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014. The provider completed an action plan after the last inspection to show what they would do and by when to improve. As part of this targeted inspection we checked they had followed their action plan and to confirm they now met legal requirements. We found concerns under safe regarding fire safety had been resolved. We found no evidence people were at risk of harm and the service was no longer in breach of Regulation 12.
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.