25 May 2021
During an inspection looking at part of the service
Grove Discharge Unit is based within Clatterbridge Hospital. It provides short term nursing or residential care to up to 30 people who have been discharged from hospital and require a period of further assessment or rehabilitation. At the time of the inspection there were 26 people staying in the unit.
People’s experience of using this service and what we found
People said there were enough staff available to help them when needed. They were supported by sufficient numbers of staff who had been safely recruited. Comments included, “The staff come quickly when I need them, they are always checking I am ok” and “Staff are wonderful, always enough staff but can be very busy at times”. Staff were available to promptly assist people throughout our inspection and staffing levels were regularly monitored, reviewed and amended when needed by the registered manager.
Staff were knowledgeable about safeguarding procedures and risk to people had been assessed and measures put in place to minimise identified risks. Medicines were administered safely and stored securely. People told us they received their medicines when they needed them. The unit appeared clean and well maintained and staff had access to personal protective equipment to help prevent the spread of infection. People told us the home was a safe place to live. One person commented, “I feel very safe with the staff, I trust them, that makes me feel safe”.
Staff treated people well, we observed a helpful, caring and attentive culture amongst staff at the home. Staff were familiar with the people they were supporting and had a good rapport with them. People were supported to make decisions regarding their care and were involved in the creation of their care plans. Support was provided to people to help them regain their independence and do as much for themselves as possible before leaving the unit. People told us staff always protected their dignity and privacy.
Relatives said they had good communication with staff at the home and staff helped them to keep in touch with their loved ones whilst COVID-19 visiting restrictions have been in place. One relative commented, “My relative is very safe there, they really do provide good care”.
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.
For more details, please see the full report which is on the CQC website at www.cqc.org.uk
Rating at last inspection
The last rating for this service was good (published 6 April 2020).
Why we inspected
The inspection was prompted in part due to concerns received about the medication procedures. A decision was made for us to inspect and examine those risks. We found no evidence during this inspection that people were at risk of harm from this concern.
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.
We reviewed the information we held about the service. No areas of concern were identified in the other key questions. We therefore did not inspect them. Ratings from previous comprehensive inspections for those key questions were used in calculating the overall rating at this inspection.
The overall rating for the service has not changed from good to good. This is based on the findings at this inspection.
We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service until we return to visit as per our re-inspection programme. If we receive any concerning information we may inspect sooner.