Eliza Palmer Hub

Updated 15 September 2022

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

Three inspectors and a specialist nurse advisor carried out the inspection.

Service and service type

Eliza Palmer Hub 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. Eliza Palmer Hub is a care home with nursing care. CQC regulates both the premises and the care provided, and both were looked at during this inspection.

This service is required to have a registered manager. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission to manage the service. 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.

At the time of our inspection, there was a registered manager in place.

Notice of inspection

The inspection was unannounced.

Inspection activity started on 11 August 2022 and ended on 18 August 2022. We visited the home on 11 August 2022.

Before the inspection

We reviewed information we had received about the service since the last inspection, including feedback forms submitted to us by relatives. 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 talked to eight people who lived at the home and five relatives about the care their family members received. We spoke with members of the management team including the provider’s head of care, the registered manager and the deputy manager. We talked to eight staff including nursing, care, activities and catering staff.

We looked at care records for six people, including their assessments, care plans and risk assessments. We checked five staff recruitment files, training records, the arrangements for managing medicines, records of complaints and accidents and incidents, quality checks and audits, meeting minutes and the home’s business contingency plan.

Updated 15 September 2022

Eliza Palmer Hub is a care home with nursing for a maximum of 30 older people. There were 28 people living at the home at the time of our inspection.

The home is purpose-built and provides accommodation and facilities over two floors. The home is situated in Whiteley Village, which provides housing to around 400 older people in almshouse cottages, extra-care flats and Ingram House, a residential care home.

People’s experience of using this service:

Staff were available when people needed them and staffing levels were regularly reviewed to ensure they continued to reflect people’s needs. Risks were identified effectively and managed well. Staff were recruited safely and understood their role in safeguarding people from abuse.

People were supported to maintain good health and to access healthcare services when they needed them. Staff monitored people’s health closely and acted promptly if they identified concerns. Medicines were managed safely.

People’s care was provided in line with the Mental Capacity Act (MCA), although there were some inconsistencies in the completion of documentation. We alerted the registered manager to this, who took immediate action to ensure documentation was completed correctly.

Most people said they enjoyed the food at the home, although some told us they did not. The provider had responded to people’s feedback about the food by working with the meal supplier to provide a menu which reflected people’s preferences.

The home was purpose-built and designed to meet people’s needs. Bedrooms were personalised according to people’s tastes and people had access to comfortable communal areas and well-maintained gardens.

Staff were kind and caring and treated people with respect. People told us there was a friendly, family atmosphere at the home which they enjoyed. Staff encouraged people to make choices about their care and supported them to be as independent as possible. People had access to activities they enjoyed and which benefited their well-being.

People’s care was planned to meet their individual needs. People were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff supported them in the least restrictive way possible; the policies and systems in the service supported this practice.

Staff had the induction and ongoing training they needed to carry out their roles. Staff were well-supported by the management team and felt valued for the work they did. Handovers and team meetings kept staff up to date about any changes in people’s needs or to working practices.

The home had an established management team which maintained an effective oversight of the service and communicated effectively with people, relatives and professionals. Managers and staff communicated effectively with one another and worked well as a team.

The views of people who lived at the home, their relatives and staff were encouraged and acted upon by the management team. People and their relatives felt able to raise any concerns they had and were confident these would receive an appropriate response.

For more details, please see the full report which is on the CQC website at www.cqc.org.uk

Rating at last inspection

The three services operating in Whitely Village, Eliza Palmer Hub, Ingram House (a care home without nursing), and the Village’s extra care scheme, were previously registered as one location. The last inspection when the services were registered as one location was carried out on 31 July 2019 and the service was rated requires improvement (report published 7 October 2019). Since then, the three services have been registered as individual locations. Eliza Palmer Hub was registered on 17 June 2021 and this is the first inspection since that date.

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.

Follow up:

We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service, which will help inform when we next inspect.