Eboracum House

Updated 22 February 2023

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 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. 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

Eboracum House 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. Eboracum House is a care home without 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 not a registered manager in post.

The previous registered manager had left the service 8 months ago and the provider had appointed the operations manager to oversee improvements at the service until a new registered manager was appointed.

The providers operations manager had now submitted an application to register themselves as the new manager of Eboracum House. We are currently assessing this application.

Notice of inspection

This inspection was unannounced.

Inspection activity started on 31 January 2023 and ended on 2 February 2023. We visited the service on 31 January 2023.

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, professionals who work with the service and Healthwatch. 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 the information the provider sent us in the provider information return (PIR). This is information providers are required to send us annually with key information about their service, what they do 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 used all this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection

We spoke with 8 people who used the service and 2 relatives about their experience of the care provided. We spoke with 6 members of staff including the manager, care workers and ancillary staff. We observed staff interacting with people who used the service, to help us understand their experience. We reviewed a range of records. This included 3 people's care records and multiple medication records. We looked at 3 staff files in relation to recruitment and staff supervision. We reviewed a variety of records relating to the management of the service.

Updated 22 February 2023

About the service

Eboracum House is a residential care home providing personal care for up to 18 people. There were 16 people living at the home at the time of the inspection. Accommodation is provided over two floors in a detached period building with a large garden.

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

Since the last inspection there had been changes in the management team and the service had a new manager and operations manager. The previous registered manager had left the service 8 months ago and the provider had recently appointed the operations manager to oversee improvements at the service until a new registered manager was appointed.

The providers operations manager had now submitted an application to register themselves as the new manager of Eboracum House. We are currently assessing this application.

New systems and processes had been introduced to monitor the service, however new processes required embedding into practice and sustained to continue to drive improvements. Staff felt supported by the manager and told us they were approachable and felt ‘things had improved’ at Eboracum House.

Some actions recommended in the services fire risk assessment, which was completed in October 2022, such as fire evacuation drills had not been completed and personal emergency evacuation plans (PEEPs) required more detail. The manager responded after the inspection. They confirmed all the actions from the fire risk assessment and PEEPS had now been completed.

The home was clean, but areas of the home were tired and required refurbishment and redecoration. The manager shared a refurbishment plan with us, and we could see some refurbishment and redecoration of the home had commenced.

People were safeguarded from the risk of abuse. Risks in relation to people's care were identified and detailed information about how risks could be mitigated. People were protected from the risk and spread of infections. Accidents and incidents were recorded and analysed to identify any trends or patterns. This helped to mitigate future risks and ensured lessons were learned. The provider had a safe recruitment process which assisted them in recruiting suitable staff.

A training plan evidenced staff had received appropriate training to carry out their roles effectively. Competency assessments were also in place for things such as medicine administration.

People's needs were assessed, and care delivered in line with best practice. Care plans and supporting documentation included people's individual choices and preferences. We observed lunch being served and found people were supported to maintain a healthy and balanced diet which included their preferences.

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.

Throughout the inspection we observed staff interacting with people in a caring and considerate way. We saw staff gaining people's consent prior to carrying out care tasks. People we spoke with were complimentary about the care and support they received.

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 requires improvement (published 23 July 2021). Although we saw improvements had been made, the service remains rated requires improvement.

Why we inspected

This inspection was prompted by a review of the information we held about this service. As a result, 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 remained requires improvement based on the findings of this 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.

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

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

Follow up

We will meet with the provider following this report being published to discuss how they will make changes to ensure they improve their rating to at least good. We will work with the local authority to monitor progress. We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service, which will help inform when we next inspect.