Background to this inspection
Updated
20 May 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 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 one inspector.
Service and service type
Spratslade House is a ‘care home’. People in care homes receive accommodation and nursing or personal care as a 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 is required to have a manager 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. The manager was in the process of applying to be registered with us.
Notice of inspection
This inspection was unannounced.
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 and professionals who work with the service. 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. We used all of this information to plan our inspection.
During the inspection
We spoke with five people who used the service and two relatives about their experience of the care provided. We spoke with seven members of staff in addition to the manager and deputy manager. We reviewed a range of records. This included three people’s care records and multiple medicines records. We looked at three staff files in relation to recruitment. A variety of records relating to the management of the service, including policies and procedures were reviewed.
After the inspection
We continued to seek clarification from the manager to validate evidence found. We looked at additional policies and quality assurance records.
Updated
20 May 2021
About the service
Spratslade House Care Home is a residential care home providing personal care to 23 people aged 65 and over at the time of the inspection. The service can support up to 30 people.
Spratslade House Care Home accommodates up to 30 people in one adapted building. There is a separate area within the home, called ‘The Court’. The Court has its own communal spaces and people with higher dependency care needs are supported in this area.
People’s experience of using this service and what we found
People told us they felt safe and were happy with the care they received. People’s risks were assessed and planned for and action was taken when required to escalate concerns to professionals. People received their medicines as prescribed and the manager acted, during the inspection to make improvements to the way topical medicines were managed.
There were enough staff to keep people safe and there was a consistent staff team who knew people well. Staff worked well together as a team to deliver good outcomes for people.
People knew the manager and said they were approachable and supportive. However, the manager was not registered with the Care Quality Commission, which is a condition of the providers registration. The manager was in the process of applying to register with us.
The manager had made improvements to quality assurance processes; however, some improvements were still required to ensure consistency.
People felt listened to and involved in the running of the service, as did staff.
For more details, please see the full report which is on the CQC website at www.cqc.org.uk
Rating at last inspection and update
The last rating for this service was requires improvement (published 5 November 2019) and there were two breaches of regulations. The provider completed an action plan after the last inspection to show what they would do and by when to improve. At this inspection we found improvements had been made and the provider was no longer in breach of regulations.
Why we inspected
We carried out unannounced comprehensive inspection of this service on 30 September and 1 October 2019. Breaches of legal requirements were found. The provider completed an action plan after the last inspection to show what they would do and by when to improve safe care and treatment and governance.
We undertook this focused inspection to check they had followed their action plan and to confirm they now met legal requirements. This report only covers our findings in relation to the Key Questions Safe and Well-led which contain those requirements. The ratings from the previous comprehensive inspection for those key questions not looked at on this occasion were used in calculating the overall rating at this inspection. The overall rating for the service has changed from requires improvement to good. This is based on the findings at 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 Spratslade House Care Home 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.