5 October 2022
During a routine inspection
Chantry House Residential and Nursing Home provides accommodation and personal care for up to 24 people. At the time of our inspection there were 22 people living in the home. The majority were being supported with their mental health needs and some were also living with varying levels of dementia.
People’s experience of using this service and what we found
We found concerns at our last inspection and rated the home requires improvement in four key questions and overall. We also found several breaches of the Health and Social Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014. At this inspection we found that progress had been made and the provider was no longer in breach of regulations. However, further improvements were still needed to fully embed a person centred approach in the home.
The culture in the home was task led and not always person centred. Emphasis was placed on meeting people's medical needs and associated risks and at times there were missed opportunities for meaningful engagement.
We were encouraged by the actions the provider was taking to address this but these had not been fully implemented. Therefore, we were unable to assess there effectiveness. We have made a recommendation that the provider considers current guidance and best practice to ensure care records are detailed, accurate and person centred.
People told us they felt safe and we observed they were at ease in the company of the staff that cared for them. Visitors could freely visit the service and were welcomed.
People were protected from the risk of potential harm; safeguarding policies and processes were in place and staff had received appropriate training.
Staff were recruited safely. There was mixed feedback about staffing levels and the use of agency staff. On the day of our visit there were sufficient staff to meet people’s needs. However, we have made a recommendation about staffing arrangement in the home.
Risks to people were regularly assessed with measures in place to mitigate them. This included timely referrals to healthcare services.
Staff were kind, caring and treated people well. They supported people in a discreet and dignified way which maintained people's privacy and independence. People were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff supported them in the least restrictive way possible; the policies and systems in the service supported this practice
The home was clean and hygienic with good infection control procedures carried out. Staff wore appropriate personal protective equipment (PPE). Safe management of medicines was in place.
There was clear leadership in the home. Governance systems supported the provider and management team to identify shortfalls in the home and address them. Processes were in place to learn lessons when things had gone wrong with actions taken to reduce future incidents happening.
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 (published 5 May 2019) and there were breaches of regulations. The provider completed an action plan after the last inspection to show what they would do and by when to improve. At this inspection we found improvements had been made and the provider was no longer in breach of the regulations.
Why we inspected
This inspection was carried out to follow up on action we told the provider to take at the 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 requires improvement to good based on the findings of this inspection.
Follow up
We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service, which will help inform when we next inspect.