Castle Grove Nursing Home

Updated 9 June 2023

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 Health and Social Care Act 2008.

As part of this inspection we looked at the infection control and prevention measures in place. This was conducted so we can understand the preparedness of the service in preventing or managing an infection outbreak, and to identify good practice we can share with other services.

Inspection team

This inspection was undertaken by 1 inspector.

Castle Grove Nursing home is a 'care home' with nursing care. People in care homes receive accommodation, personal and nursing care as a single package under one contractual agreement dependent on their registration with us. CQC regulates both the premises and the care provided, and both were looked at during this inspection.

Registered Manager

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 the inspection

We reviewed information we had received about the service. We used the information the provider sent us in the provider information return (PIR). This is information providers are required to send us annually with key information about their service, what they do well, and improvements they plan to make. We used all this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection

We spoke with 13 people and 1 of their relatives. We also spoke with 13 staff including the registered manager, the lead nurse, office manager, quality assurance manager, senior care staff, care staff, activities co-ordinator, head housekeeper, housekeeping staff, laundry person, the cook and the maintenance person. We also spoke with the provider who was present throughout this inspection.

We also emailed the GPs who support people at the service to ask their views, we received a response from one of them.

We reviewed a range of records. This included people's care records and a sample of medicine records on the computerised systems. We looked at a variety of records relating to the management of the service, including training records, recruitment records, audits, staff meetings, quality assurance processes, various policies and procedures and the providers business plan.

During the inspection visits the management team sent us additional information about the service provided at Castle Grove Nursing Home.

Updated 9 June 2023

About the service

Castle Grove is a detached Georgian, two storey property located in the Devon village of Bampton. It is within easy walking distance of local shops, restaurants, and the Church. People have access to a well-maintained garden. The service provides accommodation and nursing and personal care for up to 26 older and younger people. At the time of the inspection there were 21 older people living at the home.

The provider also provides personal care to people living in sheltered accommodation within the grounds of Castle Grove. At the time of the inspection nobody living in the self-contained apartments were receiving the regulated activity of personal care.

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

People looked comfortable and relaxed with the staff who supported them and felt safe. People were treated with kindness and respect by enough staff, who had been recruited safely and had the skills and required training to support their needs.

People lived in a home which was pleasant, welcoming, and well maintained. Risks were managed effectively for individuals and the environment.

Risks of infection to people was minimised because staff followed up to date infection control guidance and had access to personal protective equipment.

People’s medicines were managed safely, and they received them as prescribed for them.

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.

The registered manager promoted and encouraged open communication amongst everyone who lived at the home. People and those important to them were involved in making decisions about their care and asked their opinions about the home. They said they were happy with the care and support they received and said they would recommend it to others.

The provider, registered manager and senior leadership team were constantly looking to make improvements where needed.

The provider recognised the importance of supporting and caring for their staff team and had a good staff retention. They were actively recruiting and used the services of consistent agency staff where their own staff could not fill any duty gaps.

Staff felt supported and valued by the provider and said staff morale was good.

The provider's governance systems were being embedded within the service to monitor quality and drive improvement.

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 8 February 2018).

Why we inspected.

This inspection was prompted by a review of the information we held about this service and the length of time since the last inspection.

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.

This was a focused inspection looking at safe and well-led key questions only. For those key questions not inspected, we used the ratings awarded at the last inspection to calculate the overall rating.

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

The overall rating for the service has not changed from good based on the findings of this inspection.

Follow up

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