Background to this inspection
Updated
17 January 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 two inspectors, an assistant inspector and a specialist advisor. The specialist advisor had experience of working and caring for people who have nursing needs.
Service and service type
Andrin House Nursing Home is a ‘care home’. People in care homes receive accommodation and nursing or personal care as 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 had a manager registered with the Care Quality Commission. 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.
Notice of inspection
This inspection was unannounced.
What we did before the inspection
We reviewed information we had received about the service since the last inspection. We sought feedback from the local authority and Healthwatch. Healthwatch is an independent consumer champion that gathers and represents the views of the public about health and social care services in England. We used all of this information to plan our inspection.
The provider was not asked to complete a provider information return prior to this inspection. This is information we require providers to send us to give some key information about the service, what the service does well and improvements they plan to make. We took this into account when we inspected the service and made the judgements in this report.
During the inspection
We spoke with eight people who used the service and one relative about their experience of the care provided. We spoke with seven members of staff including the registered manager, two nurses, senior carer/activities coordinator, two care staff and a kitchen assistant. We used the Short Observational Framework for Inspection (SOFI). SOFI is a way of observing care to help us understand the experience of people who could not talk with us.
We reviewed a range of records. This included eight people’s care records and multiple medication records. We looked at three staff files in relation to recruitment. A variety of records relating to the management of the service, including quality assurance processes, accidents and incident folder, training records, maintenance logs and policies and procedures were reviewed.
Updated
17 January 2020
About the service
Andrin House Nursing Home is a residential care home providing personal and nursing care to people in one adapted building. The service can support up to 37 people. At the time of inspection there were 30 people using the service.
People’s experience of using this service and what we found
People received their medicines safely from trained staff. Guidance for staff to follow when administering medicines to be taken 'as and when required' was not on all care files. We found thickener (used to reduce the risk of choking if someone had difficulties swallowing) in a person's room which meant not all medicines were stored securely.
Recording of kitchen cleaning and temperature checks had lapsed but we did not find any negative impact had been caused to people. Staff had been trained in infection control and used appropriate personal protective equipment (PPE).
Quality assurance checks were effective in most areas of the service. However, audit processes had not identified the issues with the kitchen checks or gaps in some records related to people's care, for example, repositioning charts.
We have made a recommendation about the quality assurance checks in the service.
People were cared for safely. Staff understood safeguarding procedures. Safe recruitment practices were followed to ensure staff were suitable for their roles. Lessons were learned when things went wrong.
People’s care files contained clear information about their care and support needs. Staff knew people well and had a good understanding of their wishes and individual preferences. People’s personal histories, preferences and dislikes, diversity needs such as cultural or religious needs and links with family were all considered within the care plans. Staff received training to meet people’s needs.
Where required, people were supported with their eating and drinking to ensure their dietary requirements were met. People were supported to promptly access health care services when needed.
There was on ongoing redecoration programme. Improvements had been made to the décor and environment since the last inspection.
People received support from consistent, compassionate staff. Staff were caring in their approach and had positive relationships with people and their relatives. People were treated with respect. Staff maintained people’s dignity and promoted their independence. Consent was sought before care was delivered.
The registered manager was committed to driving improvements of the service and ensuring people received high quality care. The management team were aware of their legal responsibilities and worked in an open and transparent way. Feedback was sought from people, relatives and staff.
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.
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 requires improvement (published November 2018).
Why we inspected
This was a planned inspection based on the previous rating.
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.