Harbour Care Centre

Updated 26 January 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 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

The inspection was carried out by one inspector and an Expert by Experience. 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

Harbour Residential is a ‘care home’. People in care homes receive accommodation and nursing and personal care as a single package under one contractual agreement dependent on their registration with us. Harbour Residential is a care home with nursing care. The home had recently registered for nursing but at the time of inspection had not yet begun caring for people with nursing needs. CQC regulates both the premises and the care provided, and both were looked at during this inspection.

Registered Manager

This provider is required to have a registered manager to oversee the delivery of regulated activities at this location. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission to manage the service. Registered managers and providers are legally responsible for how the service is run, for the quality and safety of the care provided and compliance with regulations.

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

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 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 spoke with nine members of staff, including the registered manager and clinical lead. We spoke with 10 people living in the home. We reviewed three people’s care records and reviewed other relevant records such as recruitment records, maintenance records and audits.

Updated 26 January 2023

About the service

The home has 108 beds over four floors, however at the time of the inspection there were only two floors operational. 27 people were living in the home. The home had recently registered for nursing but had not yet taken people with nursing needs into the home as they were in the process of establishing the necessary staff team.

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

People experienced good care, delivered by staff who were kind and caring. Feedback from people was positive and our observations supported this. People were treated with dignity and respect and their privacy maintained.

People were safe because there were sufficient staff in place to meet their needs. The registered manager told us they were in a position to increase occupancy in the home but would only do this in a safe, carefully managed way. People received support with their medicines when required; these were stored and administered safely. The home was clean and there was a team of staff in place to support good infection control practices.

Staff received training and supervision to enable them to work effectively and with the necessary skills. People received good support nutritionally; their needs were monitored and assessed regularly and support from the GP was sought 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.

Care was planned in a person centred way, with people views, needs and wishes incorporated in to their care plans. People’s end of life wishes, and plans were discussed with them. There was a programme of activities in place to support people in staying socially connected. This included making links with the local community.

The service was well led. Improvements had been made and sustained over a period of time and there was a strong person centred culture within the service. There were systems in place to monitor safety and quality.

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

Rating at last inspection and update

The last rating for this service was requires improvement (5 April 2019). There were no breaches of regulation at this time, however due to the previous history of the home we needed to observe a sustained period of improvement. At this inspection we found improvement had been sustained and built upon and the service was rated good.

Why we inspected

This inspection was carried out to follow up on the requires improvement rating the service received at our last inspection.

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.

The overall rating for the service has changed from required improvement to good based on the findings of this inspection.

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