Brendoncare Stildon

Updated 17 July 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 7 March 2018 and was unannounced. The inspection was carried out by two 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.

As part of our planning for this inspection we used information the provider sent us in the Provider Information Return. This is information we require providers to send us at least once annually to give some key information about the service, what the service does well and improvements they plan to make. We also considered statutory notifications received by the provider and previous inspection reports.

We looked at three people's care records which included risk assessments and other associated records, four staff files, records relating to the management of the service, environment and policies and procedures.

We spoke to seven people who use the service, two relatives, two care staff, a nurse, the kitchen manager, maintenance staff, activities co-ordinator, the training manager and the registered manager. We spoke with two healthcare professionals and asked for their feedback about the service. This included speaking with a psychiatrist and a care manager who were happy for us to share their comments. We also made observations of the environment and staff interacting with people.

Updated 17 July 2018

Brendoncare Stildon is a ‘care home’. People in care homes receive accommodation and nursing or personal care as single package under one contractual agreement. CQC regulates both the premises and the care provided, both were looked at during this inspection. The home provides care and support to people with personal care and nursing needs, several of whom were living with dementia or chronic conditions. The home was arranged over two floors and offered nursing care based on people’s particular needs and requirements. The service provided care and support for up to 32 people. There were 25 people living at the home on the days of our inspections. Brendoncare Stildon belongs to a not for profit charitable organisation called Brendoncare, which provides residential and nursing care across southern England.

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 the service remained Good.

People felt safe at the home. There were processes in place for reporting and responding to allegations of abuse. Staff had a good understanding of their roles and responsibilities and knew how to access policies and procedures regarding protecting people from abuse.

Risks to people were assessed, monitored and updated as and when necessary. Action was taken to reduce the risk of incidents and information about risks to people were documented in their care records so that staff were aware.

People liked the layout of the building and felt it was suitably adapted to meet their needs. The building was well maintained and there were systems in place for ensuring that regular checks of the environment and equipment, including fire procedures were carried out.

Staffing levels were assessed regularly and amended if people’s needs changed. There were arrangements in place for covering if staff were unable to come to work at short notice. There were out-of-hours arrangements in place to provide additional support to staff if needed. There were robust recruitment processes in place and all relevant checks such as Disclosure and Barring Service checks and the right to work in the UK were carried out.

Medicines were managed safely and staff administered them in line with recommended guidance. There was an electronic system for recording and monitoring that medicines had been administered safely.

Incidents were investigated and the provider learned from them and made changes as a result. Analysis was carried out to identify any patterns which could prevent any future incidents.

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.

People were supported to maintain balanced diets and have input into menu’s and meal choices. People had specialist equipment to assist with maintaining independence when eating. Staff were aware of special dietary requirements and were able to cater for them.

Staff were trained and supported to obtain qualifications to enable them to assist people safely. Staff received regular supervision and were supported to develop in their roles. Staff had received training in specialist areas such as end of life care and mentoring. Clinical staff were supported to keep up their professional registrations through regular clinical updates and training.

People told us that staff were caring and kind. Staff spoke to people respectfully and encouraged people to remain independent with staff assisting when people needed them to. People were involved in their care plans and were supported to access additional services such as mental health services if they needed to.

People were kept informed about what was happening in the home on a daily basis and were able to choose what they wanted to do. People were supported to maintain their religious beliefs and participate in activities that they enjoyed.

There was an accessible complaints process in place which people knew how to use if they needed to, however, they told us hadn’t needed to.

The provider respected people’s wishes when they reached the end of their life. The registered manager worked with other services such as GPs and hospices to ensure that people were as pain free as possible. The service has been accredited with the Gold Standards Framework for providing end of life care.

Staff thought highly of the provider and registered manager. The vision and values of the organisation were visible within the home and staff were proud to work at the service. People and their relatives told us that they thought the service was well managed.

People and staff were asked for their opinion about the service and implemented suggestions that were put forward such as what activities were planned.

There were formal processes in place for assessing and monitoring the quality of the service provided such as audits. Where areas for improvement were identified, actions were carried out to address the issues.

The provider worked with other healthcare providers to ensure that people received care that met their needs and that they were aware of best practice and updates that were relevant to how the service was run.