15 December 2022
During an inspection looking at part of the service
Newlands Hall is a residential care home providing nursing or personal care to up to 30 people, some of whom are living with dementia. The home has communal living areas on the ground floor and bedrooms are located on the ground and first floor. At the time of our inspection there were 22 people using the service.
People’s experience of using this service and what we found
Improvements were required in how the service assessed and managed risk to ensure risks were monitored or managed in relation to people's health and wellbeing. Staff were not consistently recording when they had met a person's care needs such as postural changes, oral care and personal hygiene needs. This meant the service was not able to evidence care had been provided on each occasion or that an accurate record was maintained.
Medicines were not always administered as prescribed and records did not always reflect the medicines received by people. People at risk of sore skin did not receive their topical medicines as prescribed.
Staff had been recruited safely and had received an induction into the service. Staff received training and supervision to ensure they were equipped for their roles. However, some induction training records had not been 'signed-off' by staff to verify that induction had been completed. Staff we spoke with were knowledgeable and were supported by the home manager.
People and their relatives felt they were safe and well cared for by staff. They told us their needs were met and they were able to make choices about their care. People were observed to be treated with respect and kindness.
Infection control processes were not always effective in minimising the risk of infection. We observed a clinical waste bag not properly disposed of and left unattended in a bathroom.
People had access to a balanced and healthy diet. People told us they enjoyed the meals provided by the home and they were offered choice of food options. Records were not always completed to show people at risk of poor nutrition were being supported to eat and drink.
People were encouraged to participate in different activities and spoke highly of the activities coordinator. Formal complaints were reviewed and responded to in line with company policy. People were supported to access healthcare professionals when required.
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.
The provider had updated their quality assurance monitoring procedures. Audits and checks were carried out; however, these were not always effective in identifying areas which needed to be improved. Further improvements were required to ensure these were robust and effective so that areas for improvement were identified and addressed.
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 requires improvement (published 22 October 2019). The service remains rated requires improvement.
Why we inspected
This inspection was prompted by a review of the information we held about this service. 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.
This report only covers our findings in relation to the Key questions Safe, Effective and Well-led. For those key questions not inspected, we used the ratings awarded at the last inspection to calculate the overall rating.
You can read the report from our last comprehensive inspection, by selecting the 'all reports' link for Newlands Hall on our website at www.cqc.org.uk.
Enforcement and Recommendations
We have identified 2 breaches in relation to safe care and treatment and good governance at this inspection. Please see the action we have told the provider to take at the end of this report
Follow up
We will request an action plan from the provider to understand what they will do to improve the standards of quality and safety. We will work alongside the provider and local authority to monitor progress. We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service, which will help inform when we next inspect.