Brabyns House

Updated 14 December 2021

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 two inspectors on days one and two. Day three was carried out by one inspector and one medicines inspector.

Service and service type

Brabyns House 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.

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 unannounced on day one and day three.

What we did before inspection

We reviewed information we had received about the service since the last inspection. We sought feedback from the local authority and Healthwatch. Healthwatch is an independent consumer champion that gathers and represents the views of the public about health and social care services in England. 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 this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection

We spoke with twelve people who used the service and four relatives about their experience of the care provided. We spoke with eleven members of staff including the registered manager, senior care workers and care workers.

We reviewed a range of records. This included three people’s care records and eight people’s medication records. We looked at three staff files in relation to safe recruitment. 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.

Updated 14 December 2021

About the service

Brabyns House is a residential care home providing personal and nursing care to 33 people aged 65 and over at the time of the inspection. The service can support up to 39 people.

Brabyns House accommodates people over two floors in one large adapted building.

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

We identified some low-level concerns with medicines and environmental safety that were rectified during and after the inspection. The home was very clean, and personal protective equipment (PPE) was readily available and used. There was a safe system in place for visitors to the home. Staffing levels were appropriate for the needs of the people living at the home. Staff we spoke with were knowledgeable around how to identify people at risk and knew how to report any concerns. Safe recruitment checks were in place.

The registered manager had good links with other organisations and built relationships with key people such as the local authority and health protection teams. Statutory notifications were submitted as required. We received positive feedback from people, staff and families about the management team. Staff felt supported and involved in the service. The registered manager was visible around the home and kept oversight of operations through good channels of communication.

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 12 July 2018).

Why we inspected

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.

We received concerns in relation to the management of medicines, staffing levels and infection control. As a result, we undertook a focused inspection to review the key questions of safe and well-led only.

We reviewed the information we held about the service. No areas of concern were identified in the other key questions. We therefore did not inspect them. Ratings from previous comprehensive inspections for those key questions were used in calculating the overall rating at this inspection.

We found no evidence during this inspection that people were at risk of harm from this concern. Please see the safe and well-led sections of this full report.

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

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.