Bracknell Care home

Updated 13 November 2020

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

This inspection was completed by two inspectors on 9 October 2020.

Service and service type

Bracknell Care Home 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 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 announced.

What we did before the inspection

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 reviewed the notifications received from the provider, since the last inspection. The law requires providers to send us notifications about certain events that happen during the running of a service. We contacted local authority teams engaged with the service, including clinical commissioning groups, continuing health care groups, the local fire authority and environmental health for information to aid the planning of our inspection. We took this into account when we inspected the service and made the judgements in this report.

During the inspection

We spoke with two people who used the service and six relatives about their experience of the care provided. We spoke with 11 members of staff including the registered manager, regional manager, supporting registered manager, two registered nurses, the chef, the maintenance officer and four care staff.

We reviewed a range of records. This included six people’s care records and multiple medication records. We looked at six 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.

After the inspection

We continued to seek clarification from the provider to validate evidence found. We looked at training data and quality assurance records. We spoke with three professionals who regularly visit the service.

Updated 13 November 2020

About the service

Bracknell Care Home is a care home providing personal and nursing care to a maximum of 30 older people, some of whom may be living with dementia and/or physical disability. At the time of the inspection the service was supporting 21 people.

People in care homes receive accommodation and nursing or personal care as a single package under one contractual agreement. The Care Quality Commission (CQC) regulates both the premises and the care provided, and both were looked at during this inspection. The accommodation is arranged over two floors, with all rooms having en-suite toilet facilities and bathrooms. There is one large communal space that is divided into small areas. These include dining room, living space and activities area.

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

People experienced safe care and treatment, in accordance with their care plans, which met their individual needs. Care plans demonstrated that people had been fully involved in developing their care plans, which ensured their preferences were always being taken into consideration.

Staff effectively identified and assessed risks to people, which they managed safely. Staff understood their responsibilities to protect people from abuse and avoidable harm. Enough staff with the required skills and knowledge provided people with safe care. People received their medicines safely, as prescribed, from staff who had completed the required training and had their competency assessed to do so. High standards of cleanliness and hygiene were maintained throughout the home, which reduced the risk of infection. Staff followed the required standards of food safety and hygiene when preparing, serving and handling food.

People received effective care and support which consistently achieved successful outcomes and promoted a good quality of life. Staff felt valued and well supported by the management team, through a system of effective training, competency assessment, supervision and appraisal. Staff consistently delivered care in accordance with people’s support plans and recognised best practice. People were supported to eat and drink enough to maintain good health.

The service worked well with other organisations to ensure prompt referrals to healthcare services when people’s needs changed.

Staff treated people with compassion, kindness, dignity and respect. People and relatives consistently told us staff made them feel valued and listened to. Staff identified the communication needs of people with a disability or sensory loss and effectively shared this information with others when required. Staff supported people to express their views by involving them in developing their care plans and making decisions about their care. 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.

People knew how to make a complaint and were confident the provider would address their concerns. The service was well-led, with the registered manager providing clear and direct leadership and a safe environment, which had cultivated a positive, open and empowering culture.

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 inadequate (published 14 May 2020) with multiple breaches. At this inspection we found improvements had been made and the provider was no longer in breach of

regulations 9 (person centred care), 11 (need for consent), 12 (safe care and treatment) 15 (premises and equipment), 17 (good governance) and 19 (fit and proper persons employed).

We did not focus on the domains of caring and responsive, however we found there to be sufficient improvement within regulation 9 (person centred care) and 10 (dignity and respect) for the service to no longer remain in breach. As the key lines of enquiries related to these domains were not inspected against, we are unable to comment on the entire domains.

This service has been in Special Measures since publication of our last inspection report. During this inspection the provider demonstrated that improvements had been made. The service is no longer rated as inadequate overall or in any of the key questions. Therefore, this service is no longer in Special Measures.

Why we inspected

We undertook this focused inspection to check the provider 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, Effective 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 Inadequate to Requires Improvement. This is based on the findings at this inspection.

You can read the report from our last comprehensive inspection, by selecting the ‘all reports’ link for Bracknell Care home on our website at www.cqc.org.uk.