Manor House

Updated 26 March 2020

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 an inspector and an inspection manager.

Service and service type

Manor House 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.

The service did not have a manager registered with the Care Quality Commission. The registered manager and the provider are legally responsible for how the service is run and for the quality and safety of the care provided. The previous registered manager had recently left and the operations manager, who was also the nominated individual, had been managing the service. The nominated individual is responsible for supervising the management of the service on behalf of the provider. A new manager had recently started in post but had not yet submitted their application to become the registered manager. This person is referred to as ‘the manager’ throughout the report.

Notice of inspection

This inspection was unannounced.

What we did before inspection

We reviewed information we had received about the service since the last inspection. We sought feedback from the local authority. 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 one person who used the service and two relatives about their experience of the care provided. Throughout the inspection, we observed interactions between the staff and people living at the service. We spoke with ten members of staff including the company directors, operations manager, the manager, deputy manager, assistant manager, senior care workers, care workers, activity worker and the chef. We spoke with two professionals who were visiting the service.

We reviewed a range of records. This included nine 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 were reviewed.

After the inspection

We continued to seek clarification from the provider to validate evidence found. We spoke with two relatives about their experience of the service.

Updated 26 March 2020

About the service

Manor House is residential care home providing personal care for up to 47 people aged 65 and over some of whom may be living with dementia. At the time of the inspection, 36 people were living in the service.

The care home is made up of two units, Manor Lodge a purpose-built extension and the older Manor House. There are some bedrooms on the first floor accessed by a lift. All communal areas, such as lounges, or dining rooms are on the ground floor.

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

People and relatives felt safe with the service. There were enough trained and competent staff to meet people’s needs. Risks were assessed, and staff understood how to manage them to prevent harm occurring. People received their medicines as prescribed. If things went wrong for example when people had accidents or other incidents, these were reviewed, and systems put in place to safeguard people in the future.

There was a thorough, holistic assessment process which ensured the service was able to meet people’s needs when they moved into the home. Mealtime experiences were positive, staff understood people’s dietary requirements and all food was freshly prepared. The premises had been adapted to people’s needs both physically, with wide corridors and handrails as well as appropriate signage to help people orientate themselves around the home. 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.

Relatives and people told us staff were kind and helpful. One relative told us, “Staff are passionate about working with older people.” Staff spent time to get to know people well, they knew people’s histories and were aware of people’s wellbeing. They could spot signs that people were not well if they were unable to communicate. Staff promoted people’s independence, privacy and dignity.

Care was personalised to people’s needs. The service monitored, and staff were updated, when people’s needs changed. There were communication plans in place to support people’s communication where they had difficulties. There was a full activities programme which aimed to reduce people’s isolation either in groups or on a one to one basis. The service was skilled at caring for people at the end of their life. Staff had been trained and made sure that additional support was offered at this time, both to the individuals themselves as well as keeping in contact with relatives.

The service was well managed. People, relatives and staff were positive about the management of the service and the input from the provider. Managers were described as open, accessible, and supportive. Managers understood their roles and there were robust systems in place to monitor the quality of care provided. Relatives and people were involved in the service through regular contact with the provider and there was an annual questionnaire used to gather people’s views. The provider had an ongoing process to improve the service in response to feedback, learning, and new information based on best practice advice. The action plan was delivered and monitored through supervisions with the manager.

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

Rating at last inspection. The last rating for this service was Good (published 15 August 2017).

Why we inspected

This was a planned inspection based on the previous rating.

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

Follow up

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