Romsey / Winchester Ave

Updated 16 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. 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

Two inspectors and an Expert by Experience completed this inspection. 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

Romsey / Winchester Ave is a ‘care home’. People in care homes receive accommodation and nursing and/or personal care as a single package under one contractual agreement dependent on their registration with us. Romsey / Winchester Ave is a care home without nursing care. 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.

Inspection activity started on 24 April 2023 and ended on 26 April 2023. We visited the location on 24 April 2023.

What we did before the inspection

We reviewed information we had received about the service since the last inspection. We sought feedback from the local authority, professionals who work with the service and Healthwatch. Healthwatch is an independent consumer champion that gathers and represents the views of the public about health and social care services in England. 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

During the inspection we observed how staff interacted with people and spoke with 8 people who lived at home and 4 of their friends or relatives about their experience of the care provided. We spoke with 5 members of staff including the business manager, an assistant team leader and 3 support workers. We spoke with an external healthcare professional to gather feedback on their engagement with the service. We reviewed 3 people's care records and 2 people’s medicines records. We also reviewed records relating to training, recruitment, and quality assurance.

Updated 16 May 2023

About the service

Romsey / Winchester Ave is a care home providing personal care and accommodation for up to 13 adults with mental health needs. The care home is made up of 7 properties, including 3 flats, 1 bungalow, 2 shared houses and a communal office building. At the time of our inspection visit there were 13 people being supported by the service.

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

Overall, the providers systems and processes had identified where improvement was needed. This meant failures to meet regulatory requirements identified at our last inspection had been addressed. However, some audits were not sufficiently robust to identify the concerns we identified during our inspection. This included safe medicine practices.

Improvements had been made and risks to peoples physical and mental health had now been identified and assessed. However, further improvements were needed to ensure known risks were managed well.

Some improvements had been made to the management of environmental risks. Fire doors were now compliant and appropriate window restrictors had been fitted to mitigate the risk of falls from heights. However, action was needed to ensure risks associated with smoking cigarettes were mitigated. This action was taken during our inspection.

Accidents and incidents were recorded but it was not clear what action had been taken to mitigate the risk of these accidents and incidents happening again.

Systems and processes were not always effective. Checks of records had not identified some risks in people’s care. Improvement was needed in the managerial oversight of important records. The provider was responsive to our feedback and took immediate action to rectify some areas of concern.

Despite this, 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.

People felt safe and protected from the risk of abuse. There were enough suitably skilled staff to provide safe and effective support.

People and relatives were positive about the support people received at the home and of the management and leadership of the service and told us people achieved good outcomes and lived the life they wanted.

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 31 December 2021). 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 regulations.

Why we inspected

We carried out an unannounced comprehensive inspection of this service on 17 November 2021. Breaches of legal requirements were found. The provider completed an action plan after the last inspection to show what they would do, and by when, to improve safe care and treatment and good governance.

We undertook this focused inspection to check they had followed their action plan and to confirm they now met legal requirements. This report only covers our findings in relation to the Key Questions Safe and Well-led which contain those requirements.

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.

For those key questions not inspected, we used the ratings awarded at the last inspection to calculate the overall rating. The overall rating for the service has remained requires improvement based on the findings at this inspection.

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

Follow up

We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service, which will help inform when we next inspect.