26 January 2018
During a routine inspection
Bankfield Care Home is registered to provide care for a maximum of 37 people. The manager told us 11 people were using the service when we inspected. CQC regulates both the premises and the care provided, and both were looked at during this inspection.
At the time of the inspection the service did not have a registered manager although a manager was due to commence three days after the inspection. The manager who was covering the service on a temporary basis told us they would be applying to register as the manager of Bankfield Care Home. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission 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.
Staff we spoke with understood safeguarding procedures and were confident people were safe. There were enough staff during the day but staffing arrangements on a night meant sometimes people had to wait for care. The provider took action and increased staffing on a night soon after the inspection. We noted some environmental issues around the service which could compromise people’s safety; some of these issues were being addressed by the provider, such as a broken passenger lift. Other issues such as a lack of personal protective equipment for staff had not been picked up by the provider.
People felt well cared for and told us staff were caring. People enjoyed the meals and received support to make sure their health needs were met. Systems for making sure people received support to make decisions about their care where appropriate and the care planning process had improved. The range of activities had been limited because of restricted access to communal and outdoor facilities.
Staff received training which helped them understand how to do their job well but there was a lack of support and supervision.
The provider had continued to develop the service but some of their systems and processes were not effective. For example, we found some people did not have access to suitable dining and bathing or showering facilities. These issues had not been picked up by the provider even though people had not accessed these facilities since the lift had broken at the beginning of January 2018. The provider was responsive when we brought the matters to their attention.
We found two breaches of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) regulations 2014: Staff did not receive appropriate support and supervision: The provider’s systems and processes did not enable them to assess, monitor and improve the service.