Blakesley House Nursing Home

Ratings

• Overall

  Requires improvement

• Safe

  Requires improvement

• Effective

  Good

• Caring

  Good

• Responsive

  Good

• Well-led

  Requires improvement

Our view of the service

The assessment began on 29 July 2024 and ended on 21 August 2024. We carried out an unannounced visit to the service on 15 August 2024. Blakesley House Nursing Home is a nursing home for up to 22 older people. At the time of our assessment, 13 people were living in the home. The service is owned by an individual who also manages the service. We carried out this assessment to follow up on concerns identified at the last inspection (published 15 February 2023). At the last inspection, we identified breaches in relation to safe care and treatment, safeguarding people from abuse and good governance. At this inspection, we found not enough improvement was made and the provider was still breaching regulations. We identified breaches of 5 regulations relating to safe care and treatment, nutrition and hydration, premises and equipment, good governance and staffing. Medicines were not always managed in a safe way. Some of the risks within the environment had not been assessed or managed. People did not always have a variety of nutritious food. Some of the equipment needed repair. Sometimes staff worked excessively long hours without sufficient breaks. The provider's systems for monitoring and improving the service had not always been operated effectively. We told the provider they must make the necessary improvements. We have asked the provider for an action plan in response to the concerns found at this assessment. In instances where CQC have decided to take civil or criminal enforcement action against a provider, we will publish this information on our website after any representations and/ or appeals have been concluded Whilst we identified some areas requiring improvement, we also found people received care which met their needs, and they were supported to stay healthy.

People's experience of this service

During the visit to the service, we spoke with 5 people who used the service and 1 visiting friend. We also spoke with another regular family visitor on the telephone. We spoke with staff on duty. We observed how people were being cared for and supported. Our observations included 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 looked at the latest 'enter and view' visit from Healthwatch. Healthwatch is the independent consumer champion for both health and social care. They visited the service in October 2023. People using the service and their visitors were happy with the care they received. They liked the staff and had good relationships with them. We saw staff were kind, polite and caring towards people. Some people told us they did not have enough choices about food to eat and sometimes they wanted additional food between meals, which was not always offered or available. We discussed this with the provider. Whilst people maintained good weights and this was monitored, the provider must ensure people have enough choice and are able to access food when they are hungry. People had enough to drink. People felt their needs were met and took part in different activities. Some people chose not to, or could not, leave their rooms to spend time in communal areas. There was not always a lot of varied activities for these people. We discussed this with the provider. Whilst people were happy living at the service, we found that aspects of the service meant people did not always have a safe experience. Some risks had not been fully assessed or planned for, medicines were not always managed in a safe way, some staff worked excessively long shifts, and this meant people were at risk because the staff may not be fit to work, and we found areas of the environment or equipment needed repair, replacement or cleaning.