Lindisfarne Birtley

Updated 24 June 2021

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 Care Act 2014.

As part of this inspection we looked at the infection prevention and control 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

An inspector completed the inspection.

Service and service type

Lindisfarne Birtley 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, and both were looked at during this inspection.

The service had a manager who was applying to become registered with the Care Quality Commission. This means that they and the provider are legally responsible for how the service is run and for the quality and safety of the care provided.

Notice of inspection

This inspection was unannounced.

What we did before inspection

We reviewed information we had received about the service since the last inspection. We sought feedback from the local authority. The provider was not asked to complete a provider information return prior to this inspection. This is information we require providers to send us to give some key information about the service, what the service does well and improvements they plan to make. We took this into account when we inspected the service and made the judgements in this report.

During the inspection

We spoke with nine people who used the service about their experience of the care provided. We spoke with area manager, the manager, clinical lead, a nurse, three senior carers, 14 care workers, a domestic staff member and the maintenance person. We observed how staff interacted with people using the service. We contacted eight relatives following the visit.

We reviewed a range of records. This included seven people’s care records and multiple medicine records. We looked at three staff files in relation to recruitment and staff supervision. A variety of records relating to the management of the service, including policies and procedures were reviewed.

Updated 24 June 2021

About the service

Lindisfarne Birtley provides accommodation with nursing and personal care for up to 66 older people. The home is split into three units across three floors. Support is provided to older people, individuals living with dementia and people living with mental health conditions. At the time of this inspection 52 people were living at the service.

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

People and their relatives told us the care was safe and they were happy at Lindisfarne Birtley. Medicines were managed safely, there were enough staff on duty and staff were recruited safely.

People were protected from abuse by staff who understood how to identify and report any concerns. People were protected from harm as risks had been assessed and plans put in place to mitigate these.

Care staff adhered to Covid-19 guidance on working in a care setting. There was enough personal protective equipment (PPE) such as aprons, gloves and masks. Staff had undertaken training in putting on and taking off PPE. Visitors were screened before entering the building.

Interactions we saw between people and the staff team were very positive and relatives also said they were made very welcome at the home. People were treated with kindness, dignity and respect.

The provider had critically reviewed their governance arrangements and put additional checks in place. There had been recent changes to the management of the service and a new manager had come into post. We received positive feedback about how the service was managed. There were effective systems in place to monitor the quality of the care provided.

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 5 November 2019).

We completed a targeted inspection of this service 12 February 2021 looking at infection prevention and control measures. We were assured the provider had appropriate measures to manage the risks posed by the COVID -19 pandemic.

Why we inspected

We undertook this focused inspection to check the actions the provider had taken following a review using the transitional monitoring activity we completed in January 2021. The transitional monitoring activity involves gathering feedback from staff, relatives and people who use the service as well as looking at a wide range of documents. We had found some improvements needed to be made to care records and the governance arrangements. This report only covers our findings in relation to the Key Questions safe and Well-led which contain those requirements.

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 Lindisfarne Birtley on our website at www.cqc.org.uk.

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.