Cymar House

Cymar House is a care home which provides personal care to people. The home is registered to support 25 people and, at the time of the inspection the home was providing personal care to 25 people, most of who were living with dementia.

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

The service was not always managed well. Quality assurance systems were in place and happening regularly, however these had not always been effective in identifying the issues found at this inspection. We found consent for people who lacked capacity to make decisions about their care was not always sought or recorded in line with regulations and good practice. Recruitment was not always managed safely. We found adequate checks were not being completed regularly on equipment used to move people. These areas were being audited by the service but issues had not been identified or acted upon.

People told us staff asked their consent before supporting with care tasks. People were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and we did not find evidence of care not being delivered in people's best interests, however, for people who were not able to consent to their care, mental capacity assessments and best interest decisions were not always decision specific or being completed in line with regulations and best practice. We saw examples of relatives signing consent forms without having the lawful authority to do so.

We received mixed feedback about activities happening at the home. Some people told us they enjoyed the activity provision; other people told us there weren't many activities happening. There was a lack of evidence of regular activities for people who stayed in their bedrooms and for people living with dementia. We made a recommendation for the provider to review and implement good practice in this area.

Medicines were mostly well managed, and people received their medicines as prescribed. Improvements were required in relation to how people’s ‘as and when’ required medicines were recorded and how effective it had been.

Most people told us they felt safe and enjoyed living at the service; their comments included, “It’s lovely here, they are good to you.” Relatives shared mainly positive feedback as well.

People were supported by a consistent team who knew people well.

Infection and prevention measures were in place to ensure people, staff and visitors were safe. We received feedback indicating that visiting guidance was not always being followed but the registered manager told us they were updating this and there were no restrictions on visiting.

Risk managements to people's care were assessed and control measures put in place to manage those risks.

We received positive feedback regarding staff being kind and caring. Staff spoke kindly about people and knew about their and preferences needs.

Staff felt well supported by management. There was a system in place to ensure staff were inducted and shadowed other experienced members of staff. Staff received varied training to meet needs of people they were supporting.

The registered manager collaborated with this inspection, was receptive to the inspection findings and acted on the issues found or told us the action they would take to address the issues identified.

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 14 June 2021 and this is the first inspection.

The last rating for the service under the previous provider was good, published on 1 May 2019.

Why we inspected

This was a planned inspection.

We have found evidence that the provider needs to make improvement. Please see the safe and effective sections of this full report.

Enforcement and Recommendations

We are mindful of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on our regulatory function. This meant we took account of the exceptional circumstances arising as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic when considering what enforcement action was necessary and proportionate to keep people safe as a result of this inspection. We will continue to monitor the service.

We have identified three breaches in relation to need for consent, good governance and fit and proper persons employed at this inspection.

We made one recommendation for the provider to review good practice guidance in relation to activities for people living with dementia.

Please see the action we have told the provider to take at the end of this report.

Follow up

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