The Dell Care Home

Updated 7 March 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 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 carried out by one inspector. An Expert by Experience made telephone calls to people and their relatives to ask about their experience of the service. An Expert by Experience is a person who has personal experience of using or caring for someone who uses this type of care service.

Service and service type

The Dell 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.

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. We used the information the provider sent us in the provider information return. This is information providers are required to send us with key information about their service, what they do well, and improvements they plan to make. This information helps support our inspections. We used all of this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection

We spoke with one person who used the service and 12 relatives. We spoke with five staff members including the regional manager, deputy manager and care staff. We reviewed five care records and two recruitment files. Multiple records relating to the quality, safety and monitoring of the service were reviewed.

Updated 7 March 2023

About the service

The Dell is a care home providing personal care to 35 older people at the time of inspection. The service can support up to 40 people.

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

At the last inspection improvements were required to ensure care planning for risks was clear about how this was managed. At this inspection we found care planning and risk assessment was clear, concise and provided enough information for staff to care for people. This had been updated when people’s needs had changed.

At the last inspection we found that an inconsistent management and high turnover of registered managers had impacted upon the quality of the service provided. At this inspection we found the quality of the service had improved, despite the most recent registered manager having left. This reassured us that appropriate measures were in place to maintain standards in the absence of a registered manager.

There was a comprehensive quality assurance system in place which was capable of identifying areas for improvement. We saw evidence that areas for improvement identified by the system had been acted upon, such as in care planning, as this had improved by the time of our inspection.

Medicines were stored safely within the home and administered in line with the instructions of the prescriber.

There were sufficient numbers of staff to meet people’s needs in a timely manner. Staff were recruited safely.

The service was clean and there were appropriate procedures in place to minimise the risk of the transmission of COVID19.

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’ (30 July 2021).

Why we inspected

This inspection was planned to assess progress with shortfalls identified at our previous inspection on 7 June 2021.

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 until we return to visit as per our re-inspection programme. If we receive any concerning information we may inspect sooner.