Arboretum Nursing Home

Updated 29 October 2022

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 Care Act 2014.

Inspection team

The inspection was carried out by one inspector, a specialist advisor who was a nurse and one 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 care service.

Service and service type

Arboretum Nursing Home is a 'care home'. People in care homes receive accommodation and nursing or personal care as a single package under one contractual agreement. CQC regulates both the premises and the care provided, and both were looked at during this inspection.

This service is required to have a registered manager. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission to manage the service. 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.

At the time of our inspection there was a registered manager in post.

Notice of inspection

This inspection was unannounced.

What we did before inspection

We reviewed information we had received about the service. We sought feedback from the local authority and professionals who work with the service. We used the information the provider sent us in the provider information return. This is information providers are required to send us with key information about their service, what they do well, and improvements they plan to make. This information helps support our inspections. We used all of this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection

We spoke with four people who used the service and eight relatives about their experience of the care provided. We spoke with five members of staff including the registered manager, clinical lead, nursing staff and care workers.

We reviewed a range of records. This included eight people's care records and multiple medication records. We looked at two staff files in relation to recruitment and staff supervision. A variety of records relating to the management of the service, including policies and procedures were reviewed.

After the inspection

We continued to seek clarification from the provider to validate evidence found, including information about the provider's staff training programme.

Updated 29 October 2022

About the service

Arboretum Nursing Home is a care home providing personal and nursing care to up to 54 people. The service provides support to younger adults and older people who have dementia, sensory impairment and physical disabilities. At the time of our inspection there were 46 people using the service.

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

Improvements were required in relation to the recording and responding to people’s concerns and how the provider used information from people and their relatives to drive improvements. Furthermore, improvements were required in relation to communicating in timely manner with health and social care professionals linked to the service.

Risks to people's health and well-being had been assessed and monitored to ensure they were kept safe. The provider had safeguarding systems and processes in place to keep people safe. Staff knew about the risks to people and followed the assessments to ensure they met people's needs.

People felt safe and were supported by staff who knew how to protect them from avoidable harm. Staff were recruited safely and there were enough staff to meet people's needs. People lived in an environment that was clean and well maintained.

Staff observed and followed infection control procedures in line with national guidance for reducing the spread of Covid-19. Staff followed the infection control procedures the provider had in place.

People were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff supported them in the least restrictive way and in their best interests: the policies and systems in the service supported this practice. People's individual communication needs were considered to support them to be involved in their care.

Audits took place to ensure the quality of the service was maintained.

People were assessed before they used the service to ensure their needs and preferences could be met.

Staff spoke positively about working for the provider. They felt well supported and that they could talk to the management team at any time, feeling confident any concerns would be acted on promptly. They felt valued and happy in their role.

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 the service under the previous provider was requires improvement, (published on 16 November 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

The inspection was prompted in part due to concerns received about care delivery. A decision was made for us to inspect and examine those risks. As a result, we undertook a focused inspection to review the key questions of Safe, Effective and Well Led.

For those key questions not inspected, we used the ratings awarded at the last inspection to calculate the overall rating.

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.

Follow up

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