Griffin House Care Home

Updated 11 May 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. This inspection was planned to check whether the provider was meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Act, to look at the overall quality of the service, and to provide 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 undertaken by two inspectors 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 service.

Service and service type

Griffin House Care Home is a care home. People in care homes receive accommodation and personal care. 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.

What we did before the inspection

We reviewed information we had received about the service since the last inspection. We liaised with the Local Authority to gain information on the service. We used this information to plan our inspection.

The provider was not asked to complete a provider information return prior to this inspection. This is information we require providers to send us to give some key information about the service, what the service does well and improvements they plan to make.

During the inspection

We spoke with the manager, the deputy manager and two care assistants. We also gained feedback from four people living in the home and five relatives. We reviewed a range of records. This included three people's care records, a sample of medication records, four staff files and records relating to the management of the service.

Updated 11 May 2023

About the service

Griffin House Care Home provides accommodation for up to 26 people who need help with their personal care. At the time of the inspection 21 people lived in the home.

People's experience of using this service

At the last three inspections, people’s capacity to consent to specific decisions in relation to their care were not assessed in accordance with the Mental Capacity Act 2005 (MCA). At this inspection, not enough improvement had been made and the service remained in breach of Regulation 11 (Need for Consent). This has impacted on the ratings given to the service in respect of the domains of ‘Effective’ and ‘Well-led’.

Since the last inspection, service delivery in all other areas of people’s care had continued to improve. People’s needs were properly assessed, met and monitored. Medicines and infection control standards were managed safely, and the premises was well-maintained. The culture of the service was also open, transparent, and homely.

The range of, and access to activities to mitigate the risk of people living in the home becoming socially isolated had also improved, and we observed that staff had the time to engage with and enjoy a range of activities with people living in the home.

Staff were kind, caring and compassionate in all of their interactions with people. Staff were warm, patient and person centred. It was obvious staff knew people well and that people living in the home were relaxed, comfortable and felt safe with the staff team.

There were enough staff on duty to meet people’s physical and emotional needs and new staff working in the home had been subject to a robust recruitment process to ensure they were safe to do so.

Where people needed help from other health and social care professionals, referrals had been made in a timely manner. Any professional advice given had also been followed to support good outcomes for people.

The manager and deputy manager led by example and were visible role models within the service. Staff members told us they felt supported, and we saw that staff training, supervisions and appraisals had been completed regularly to keep the staff team motivated and informed.

There were effective systems in place to monitor and mitigate people’s risks and there were a series of audits in place to check and monitor the quality and safety of the service. We saw that where actions were identified, these had been actioned to ensure improvements were made.

There were systems in place to gain feedback from people living in the home and their families, including surveys and residents and relatives’ meetings. People and their relatives told us that the manager was always around and available for a chat if needed.

People living in the home and their relatives were very positive about the service and the care they, or their loved ones received. No-one had any complaints, and everyone felt that people received good quality care that achieved good outcomes for people both in term of their physical health and mental wellbeing.

Rating at last inspection and update

The last rating for this service was requires improvement (published 26 October 2021). The service remains rated requires improvement and has been rated requires improvement for the last two inspections.

At this inspection, the service was rated requires improvement again because further work was required with regards to achieving compliance with Regulation 11 (Need for Consent).

Why we inspected

This was a planned 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.

You can read the report from our last comprehensive inspection, by selecting the 'all reports' link for Griffin House Care Home on our website at www.cqc.org.uk

Enforcement

At this inspection we found evidence that the provider still needed to make improvements in respect of Regulation 11 (Need for Consent). You can see what action we have asked the provider to take at the end of the full report.

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

Full information about CQC’s regulatory response to the concerns found during inspections is added to reports after any representations and appeals have been concluded.

Follow up

We will request an action plan for the provider to understand what they will do to ensure that people’s legal right to consent to their care is sought accordance with the Mental Capacity Act (Regulation 11 Need for Consent). We will work alongside the provider and local authority to monitor progress. We will return to visit as per our re-inspection programme. If we receive any concerning information we may inspect sooner.