We carried out a review of the data available to us about Dunsland House on 6 July 2023. We have not found evidence that we need to carry out an inspection or reassess our rating at this stage.
This could change at any time if we receive new information. We will continue to monitor data about this service.
If you have concerns about Dunsland House, you can give feedback on this service.
Dunslands House is a residential care home in Berkhamstead, providing care and accommodation for people over the age of 65 who require nursing or personal care and may be living with dementia. At the time of our inspection there were 18 people receiving a service for personal care.
People’s experience of using this service:
People were happy at the service and were supported by staff who knew them well. People felt their privacy and dignity was promoted. People were able to choose how to spend their time and encouraged to make decisions about their care. People's care plans gave staff information on how people wanted to be supported and what their likes and dislikes were.
People enjoyed the activities available. There were communal areas which were well decorated and were used regularly.
The recruitment process and training provided to staff meant that people were supported by staff who were suitable to work in a care setting. Staff felt well supported. People felt in most cases there was enough staff to meet their needs.
People had individual risk assessments in place and staff were aware of these. People received their medicines when they needed, and these were managed safely. People and relatives told us they felt happy living at Dunsland. ““It’s a home and we feel 100% comfortable with [Relative] being here.”
The registered manager was known throughout the home and people and staff were positive about them. All staff were clear about what was expected of them and any lessons learned were communicated well through meetings and handover.
The registered manager carried had a robust quality assurance system in place to ensure they provided a good service.
The service met the characteristics for a rating of Good in all key questions.
More information about the inspection finding is in the full report.
Rating at last inspection:
At the last inspection the service was rated Good (Last report published 2nd September 2016)
Why we inspected:
This was a planned inspection based on the rating at the last inspection.
Follow up:
We will continue to monitor intelligence we receive about the service until we return to visit as per our re-inspection programme. If any concerning information is received, we may inspect sooner.
For more details, please see the full report which is on the CQC website at www.cqc.org.uk
Dunsland House is a residential home in Berkhamstead, providing care and accommodation for people over the age of sixty-five who require nursing or personal care. There were fifteen people who lived at the home at the time of our inspection some of whom lived with dementia.
The home has a registered manager in post. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission (CQC) to manage the service. Like registered providers, they are ‘registered persons’. Registered persons have legal responsibility for meeting the requirements in the Health and Social Care Act 2008 and associated Regulations about how the service is run.
The ground floor area of the home which included the main lounge, dining area, office and hallway was being refurbished at the time of our inspection. The provider had carried out a risk assessment of this refurbishment and ensured that the area that was being refurbished were cornered off and not accessible to people during the time that work was being done.
People who lived at the home were safe because the provider had taken appropriate measures to safeguard them from avoidable harm. These included the safe recruitment and training of staff who supported people, the completion of risk assessments of the home environment and that of the care people received, and the effective management of people’s medicines and healthcare needs.
The service was not always effective because appraisals of staffs’ performance were not completed. The registered manager told us that this would be completed before the end of 2016, and following the inspection, they provided us with evidence that demonstrated they had commenced the process for appraisals. The staff were however trained, skilled and understood their roles.
Staff supported people to eat a healthy and balanced diet and to have access to health and care services when necessary. They sought people’s consent before they provided any care or support and understood the requirements of the Mental Capacity Act 2005.
People were cared for by staff that were friendly, kind and caring. They supported people in ways that promoted their privacy, dignity and respected their views. They provided the support that was personalised to people and with support from the management team, they ensured people’s complaints and concerns were resolved.
The registered manager with support from the provider ensured the service ran appropriately providing visible leadership and oversight at all levels. This ensured the provision of a good level of care and support to the people who lived at the home.