Queen Elizabeth House

Updated 17 October 2018

We carried out this inspection under Section 60 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 as part of our regulatory functions. This inspection was planned to check whether the provider is meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Health and Social Care Act 2008, to look at the overall quality of the service, and to provide a rating for the service under the Care Act 2014.

This inspection took place on the 18 and 19 September 2018 and was unannounced. The inspection was carried out by two inspectors.

Prior to the inspection we requested and received a Provider Information Record (PIR) on the service. The PIR is a form that the provider submits to the Commission which gives us key information about the service, what it does well and what improvements they plan to make. We reviewed other information we held about the service such as notifications and safeguarding alerts. We contacted health care professionals involved with the service to obtain their views about the care provided. Their feedback is included in the report.

People who lived at the service had limited verbal communication and therefore were unable to fully share their view of the service with us. We used the Short Observational Framework for Inspection (SOFI). SOFI is a way of observing care to help us understand the experience of people who could not talk with us.

During the inspection we walked around the home to review the environment people lived in. We spoke with three people who used the service, the registered manager, deputy manager, four registered nurses, a team leader, six support staff and a housekeeper. We spoke with two sets of relatives during the inspection. After the inspection we spoke with three relatives by telephone and received written feedback from another six relatives.

We looked at a number of records relating to individual's care and the running of the home. These included care plans and medicine records for eight people, shift planners, duty rotas, seven staff recruitment files, staff training and six staff supervision records.

Updated 17 October 2018

Queen Elizabeth House is a nursing home which provides care for up to twenty people with epilepsy, learning and/or physical disabilities. The home is a purpose built bungalow and consists of an eight bedded and 12 bedded unit. At the time of our inspection there were twenty people living at the service.

There was a registered manager in post. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission to manage the service. Like registered providers, they are 'registered persons'. Registered persons have legal responsibility for meeting the requirements in the Health and Social Care Act 2008 and associated Regulations about how the service is run.

At our last inspection we rated the service good. At this inspection we found the evidence continued to support the rating of good and there was no evidence or information from our inspection and ongoing monitoring that demonstrated serious risks or concerns. This inspection report is written in a shorter format because our overall rating of the service has not changed since our last inspection.

At this inspection we found the service remained good.

Relatives were happy with the care and support provided. They had positive relationships with staff and the registered manager. One relative raised concerns with us about some aspects of their family member's care. This was fed back to the provider who told us they were already aware of the complaint and had commenced an investigation.

Systems were in place to safeguard people. Risks to people were identified and managed. Safe medicines and infection control practices were promoted.

Staff were suitably recruited, inducted, trained and supported. The required staffing levels were maintained, although the registered manager recognised continuity of care was difficult to achieve through the high use of agency staff.

People had care plans in place which outlined their needs and support required. Their health and nutritional needs were identified and they had access to a range of health professionals. People were provided with support and equipment to promote their health, well-being and independence.

People are supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff support them in the least restrictive way possible; the policies and systems in the service support this practice.

Staff were kind and caring. Relatives described staff as "Wonderful, attentive, caring and knew how to support and communicate with their family members."

The provider had systems in place to audit and oversee the running of the service. Internal audits and some aspects of record keeping were incomplete. The registered manager addressed this immediately to bring about the required improvements.

The registered manager was experienced in their role. They were supportive and acted as a positive role model to staff. They were described as professional, knowledgeable, approachable, good listener and acted on issues raised.

Further information is in the detailed findings below.