Albert Residential Home

Updated 3 November 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.

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

The inspection was carried out by two inspectors.

Service and service type

Albert Residential Home 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 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

We gave 72 hours’ notice of the inspection. This supported the provider and us to manage any potential risks associated with COVID-19. It was also to ensure the registered manager would be available.

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 professionals who work with the service. We reviewed notifications and safeguarding concerns we had received from the service.

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 one person who used the service about their experience of the care provided. We spoke with two members of staff including the registered manager and care staff.

We reviewed a range of records. This included three people’s care records. We looked at a variety of records relating to the management of the service, policies and procedures, incidents and accidents, quality audits and governance.

After the inspection

We continued to seek additional information from the registered manager for further supporting evidence. We also spoke to one staff member, three relatives, a social worker, a GP and the nursing team via phone and email.

Updated 3 November 2020

About the service

Albert Residential Home is a care home providing personal and nursing care to three people living with mental health needs and physical disabilities living in one adapted building. There were three people using the service at the time of our inspection.

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

We saw that improvements had been made to the way risks to people’s safety were assessed and monitored. The provider had acted upon concerns from the last inspection relating to fire safety and the management of people’s medicines. Although improvements had been made, we did see some gaps in the monthly auditing during the COVID-19 pandemic. More time will be needed to fully embed and maintain these changes across the service and to ensure they are consistently monitored.

People had individual risk assessments in place and staff knew people and their needs very well. People told us they felt safe living at the home and relatives also stated they felt their loved ones were safe. Safeguarding concerns were recorded and reported to the appropriate authorities in a timely manner. There were enough staff appropriately deployed both day and night to ensure people were kept safe. Effective infection control measures were in place and staff had received training in relation to protecting people during the COVID-19 pandemic.

There had been improvements made with the overall leadership and management oversight in the service. The registered manager had been open and accepting of support provided to them following the previous inspection. This included developing a service improvement action plan and ensuring this was completed. Although it did not have any impact on people or their care, some of the paper records around this were difficult to navigate. We spoke with the registered manager about this who stated they would review the paper records.

Staff felt supported and received training and guidance in their roles. The provider had ensured a range of resources were available to support the team in making improvements to the service.

The registered manager was receptive of feedback and stated that lots of work had been implemented following the previous inspection and inadequate rating. The registered manager had plans to further develop and obtain ideas and support from other local services.

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

Rating at last inspection and update

The last rating for this service was Inadequate (report published 13 December 2019) and there were multiple breaches of regulation. These were regarding the safety of people’s care, how staff were deployed within the home and management and oversight of the service. The provider completed an action plan after the last inspection to show what they would do and by when in order to improve. At this inspection we found improvements had been made and the provider was no longer in breach of regulations.

This service has been in Special Measures since December 2019. During this inspection the provider demonstrated that improvements have been made. The service is no longer rated as inadequate overall or in any of the key questions. Therefore, this service is no longer in Special Measures

Why we inspected

We carried out an unannounced comprehensive inspection of this service on 27 September 2019. Breaches of legal requirements were found. The provider completed an action plan after the last inspection to show what they would do and by when to improve.

We undertook this focused inspection to check they had followed their action plan and to confirm they now met legal requirements in relation to people’s safe care and treatment, safeguarding service users from abuse and improper treatment, staffing and good governance. This report only covers our findings in relation to the Key Questions Safe and Well-led which contain those requirements.

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 coronavirus and other infection outbreaks effectively.

The ratings from the previous comprehensive inspection for those key questions not looked at on this occasion were used in calculating the overall rating at this inspection. The overall rating for the service has changed from Inadequate to Requires Improvement. This is based on the findings at this inspection.

You can read the report from our last comprehensive inspection, by selecting the ‘all reports’ link for Albert Residential 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.