Betsy Clara Nursing Home

Updated 31 March 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 conducted by 1 inspector and 2 Experts by Experience, one of whom called relatives after the 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

Betsy Clara Nursing Home 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. Betsy Clara Nursing Home 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 a registered manager in post.

Notice of inspection

This inspection was unannounced.

What we did before the inspection

We reviewed information we received about the service since the last inspection. This included details about incidents the provider must notify us about, such as serious injuries. 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 used this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection

We spoke with 10 people who lived in the service and 13 relatives about their experience of the care provided. We observed multiple interactions between people and staff throughout the day. We spoke with 10 members of staff including the registered manager, deputy manager, head of quality assurance, nurses, care staff and support staff. We reviewed a range of records including 5 peoples’ care records and multiple medication records. We looked at 4 staff recruitment files. A variety of records relating to the management of the service were reviewed including health and safety checks, meeting notes, training records, audits and survey results.

Updated 31 March 2023

About the service

Betsy Clara Nursing Home is a residential care home providing accommodation and personal and nursing care to up to 50 people. The service is arranged across 2 levels with a lift to the upper level. The service provides support to a range of people including people with complex nursing needs and people living with dementia. At the time of our inspection there were 45 people using the service.

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

People told us they felt safe and were happy living in Betsy Clara Nursing Home. One person said, “I like being here.” Another said they liked it because they had a “nice comfy bed”. Relatives agreed that their loved ones were safe and happy. One relative told us, “She is safe. Nothing is any trouble. They always answer my questions.” Another relative said, “She is safe, and the staff are great. She talks to the staff and finds them friendly.”

People and their relatives spoke positively about the staff and the service. One person said, “The staff are very caring.” Another person said, “The carers are nice, they do the jobs I should be doing.” One relative told us, “The staff treat them like they are part of the family.” Another relative said, “They treat her like a friend, we like that.”

The service had good infection control practices in place and medicines were managed safely. People told us they got their medicines at the right time. There were processes in place for investigating any accidents or incidents so that lessons could be learned.

Relatives told us they thought the home was managed well and they found the registered manager approachable and understanding. Relatives and professionals said Betsy Clara Nursing Home was always very welcoming. The service had acted on feedback received and people, relatives and professionals described the communication as ‘excellent’.

The registered manager had effective quality assurance processes in place to monitor the service, and regular audits were undertaken, for example for medicines and infection control. Senior managers visited the service regularly. Staff told us the registered manager was approachable and supportive.

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

Rating at last inspection

The last rating for this service was good (published 29 May 2018).

Why we inspected

The inspection was prompted in part due to concerns we received about safe care and treatment and standards of care. As a result, we undertook a focused inspection to review the key questions of safe and well led only. We found no evidence during this inspection that people were at risk of harm from these concerns.

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 remains good 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 read the report from our last comprehensive inspection, by selecting the ‘all reports’ link for Betsy Clara Nursing Home on our website at www.cqc.org.uk.

Follow up

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