Solway House

Updated 13 November 2020

We carried out this inspection under Section 60 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 as part of our regulatory functions. This inspection was planned to check whether the provider is meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Health and Social Care Act 2008.

This was a targeted inspection looking at the infection control and prevention measures the provider has in place. As part of CQC's response to the coronavirus pandemic we are conducting a thematic review of infection control and prevention measures in care homes.

This inspection took place on 26 October 2020 and was announced. The service was selected to take part in this thematic review which is seeking to identify examples of good practice in infection prevention and control.

Updated 13 November 2020

Solway House is a residential care home for up to 18 older people. People have single bedrooms and most have ensuite facilities. There are suitable shared facilities and a pleasant garden. The home does not provide nursing care.

People’s experience of using this service

People told us they felt safe. Staff had received suitable training about protecting vulnerable adults. Good arrangements were in place to ensure that new members of staff had been suitably vetted and were the right kind of people to work with vulnerable adults. Accidents and incidents were responded to appropriately.

Staff were appropriately inducted, trained and developed to give the best support possible. Team members understood people's needs and had suitable training and experience in their roles. Staffing rosters were reviewed if people's needs changed. The service employed enough staff by day and night to meet people's needs.

People saw their GP and health specialists when necessary. Medicines were suitably managed with people having reviews of their medicines on a regular basis. Staff took the advice of nurses and consultants. The staff team had good working relationships with local GP surgeries. Nutritional planning was in place and special diets catered for appropriately. People told us they really enjoyed the food provided.

Solway House is a period property that has been modernised and adapted to meet the needs of the 18 people living there. The house was warm, clean and comfortable on the day we visited. The home had equipment in place to support care delivery.

The staff team were aware of their responsibilities under the Mental Capacity Act 2005. People were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff supported them in the least restrictive way possible; the policies and systems in the service supported this practice.

People told us the staff were caring. We observed kind and patient support being provided. Staff supported people in a respectful way. They made sure confidentiality, privacy and dignity were maintained.

Risk assessments and care plans provided detailed guidance for staff in the home. People in the service or their relatives, as appropriate, had influenced the content. The registered manager ensured the plans reflected the person- centred care that was being delivered.

Staff could access specialists if people needed communication tools like sign language or braille.

People told us they enjoyed the activities, interests and hobbies on offer. The home was very much part of the local community with lots of visitors and involvement in local activities.

The service had a quality monitoring system and people were asked their views in a number of different ways. Quality assurance was used to support future planning.

The registered manager understood how to manage concerns or complaints appropriately. There had been no complaints in this service.

Records were well organised, easy to access and stored securely.

Rating at last inspection: Good (March 2017).

Why we inspected:

This inspection was part of our scheduled plan of visiting services to check the safety and quality of care people received.

Follow up

We will continue to monitor intelligence we receive about the service until we return to visit as per our re-inspection programme. If any concerning information is received we may inspect sooner.

For more details, please see the full report which is on the CQC website at www.cqc.org.uk