Bridge House

Updated 13 May 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 carried out one inspector.

Service and service type

Bridge House 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. Bridge House is a care home without 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.

Inspection activity started on 24 March 2023 and ended on 31 March 2023. We visited the service on 24 March 2023.

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. 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 all this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection

We spoke with 10 people who lived in the home and one relative about their experience of the care provided. We observed how staff interacted with people.

We spoke with the registered manager, the provider’s service manager and 6 members of the care team and 2 ancillary staff.

We looked around the home and reviewed a range of records. This included 4 people’s care records and multiple medicine administration records. We looked at records related to the recruitment and training for 3 staff. We also looked at a variety of records relating to the management of the service.

Updated 13 May 2023

About the service

Bridge House is a care home providing personal care to up to 37 people. The service provides permanent accommodation and short-term respite care to older people and people who are living with dementia. The home is on three floors and there is a passenger lift to assist people to access accommodation on the upper floors. All bedrooms are single occupancy and 3 have ensuite facilities. There are bathrooms, toilets and communal areas on each floor of the home. At the time of the inspection there were 28 people using the service.

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

People were safe and protected from harm and abuse. There were enough staff, with the right skills, to support people. The provider used safe systems when new staff were employed. Risks to people were identified and managed. People received their medicines safely and as they needed. The provider and registered manager had systems to learn and share lessons from incidents. People were protected against the risk of infection.

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 told us this was a good service and said they would recommend it. People knew the registered manager and how they could speak to them. The registered manager was committed to providing people with person-centred care. People were asked for their views and their feedback was used to further improve the service. Staff felt well supported and able to provide good care to people. The registered manager and staff worked in partnership with other services to ensure people received the care they needed.

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 8 November 2017).

Why we inspected

This inspection was prompted by a review of the information we held about this service.

The rating for the service had not been reviewed since the inspection in 2017. We undertook a focused inspection to check people continued to receive safe and high-quality care. We reviewed the key questions of safe and well-led only. For those key questions not inspected, we used the ratings awarded at the last inspection to calculate the overall rating.

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.

The overall rating for the service has remained good based on the findings of this inspection.

You can read the report from our last comprehensive inspection, by selecting the ‘all reports’ link for Bridge House 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.

Since we conducted this inspection, the legal entity has changed. The service has been re-registered with Westmorland and Furness Council. Therefore this report will be archived.