About the service Harry Sotnick House is a residential care home providing personal and nursing care to up to 92 people. It is split in to two units. The nursing unit is on the ground floor and supports people living with dementia and physical frailty. The ‘discharge to assess’ unit is on the first floor and supports people for a short time who have been discharged from hospital, prior to them moving on to their longer-term placement. At the time of our inspection there were 81 people using the service.
People’s experience of using this service and what we found
The provider’s quality assurance systems were not fully effective in identifying all concerns in the service. We have made a recommendation about this. When the provider was made aware of any issues they acted promptly and effectively to address them.
People received their medicines as prescribed. Risks associated with people’s needs and health conditions were effectively assessed, monitored and mitigated. Staff knew people well and understood how to support them safely. People were protected from the risk of abuse because the provider had effective safeguarding systems in place.
Recruitment practices were safe and there were enough staff available to meet people's needs. Effective systems were in place to prevent and control the spread of infection.
People were mostly 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.
Staff told us they had enough training to carry out their roles effectively and were well supported. The provider worked well with healthcare professionals to ensure joined up care and good outcomes for people. People were supported in a personalised way to eat and drink well.
People and relatives spoke positively about the care people received. People were supported by kind and caring staff, treated with dignity and respect and involved as partners in their care.
People’s needs were met in a personalised way. People had been supported to maintain relationships and to take part in activities that were enjoyable and meaningful for them. The provider used complaints to improve the quality of care. People received compassionate care at the end of their lives and were appropriately supported at this time.
The service had a positive person-centred culture. Although the provider had an open and honest approach, records needed improving to demonstrate how they met the duty of candour requirements. We have made a recommendation about this.
People, relatives and staff provided us with positive feedback about the management team and thought the home was well-led. They also told us they would recommend the home to others.
For more details, please see the full report which is on the CQC website at www.cqc.org.uk
Rating at last inspection
This service was registered with us on 1 April 2020 and this is the first inspection. The last rating for the service under the previous provider was good (published 28 December 2019).
Why we inspected
This inspection was prompted in part, by a review of the information we held about this service and based on the date it registered with us.
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.
Recommendations
We have made recommendations for the provider to improve their practice in relation to duty of candour and governance.
We will continue to monitor the service and will take further action if needed.