The Pines Residential Care Home

Updated 25 September 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 undertaken by one inspector.

Service and service type

The Pines Residential Care 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. At the time of the inspection the registered manager had left the service and was no longer working for the provider. However, they had failed to cancel their registration with the CQC. We spoke with the provider about this. A new manager was in place and was actively pursuing registration with the CQC. Records showed that their application was being processed at the time of the inspection. The manager supported us during the inspection.

Notice of inspection

We gave a short period notice of the inspection by contacting the manager on the morning of the inspection. This was to check the situation regarding Covid-19 at the home and for the provider to put in place appropriate processes to facilitate the inspection whilst protecting people and staff at the home.

What we did before the inspection

We reviewed information we had received about the service since the last inspection and reviewed the action plan sent to us by the provider, following the last inspection. We sought feedback from professionals who work with the service.

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 three people who used the service about their experience of the care. We spoke with five members of staff including the manager, a senior team leader, a care worker, the cook and the maintenance worker.

We reviewed a range of records. This included two people's care records and multiple medicine records. We looked at three staff files in relation to recruitment and staff supervision. A variety of records relating to the management of the service, including policies and procedures were reviewed.

After the inspection

We continued to seek clarification from the provider to validate evidence found.

Updated 25 September 2020

About the service

The Pines Residential Care Home is a care home providing accommodation and personal care for up to 28 people, both younger and older adults. At the time of the inspection there were 20 people living at the home.

The Pines accommodates people in a converted and extended building with rooms situated over two floors, with access to the upper floors via a lift and stairlift. Some rooms have access to en-suite facilities. There are a range of communal areas and a large garden at the front and side of the building and a small courtyard area to the rear.

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

Risks related to the delivery of the service were monitored and assessed. Since the previous inspection the provider had fitted new window restrictors at the home and had revised the fire procedures to ensure proper drills were taking place. Risks associated with people’s care and wellbeing were regularly reviewed and advice sought from health professionals.

Staff training records were up-to-date and action had been taking to ensure staff maintained their skills. A new training system was being introduced by the provider to further support staff development. Care plans were regularly updated to reflect the latest professional advice and professional guidance was followed. Care plans contained a range of information appropriate to people's individual needs and reviews were conducted regularly.

Medicines were managed safely. The home was maintained in a clean and tidy manner. Appropriate processes were in place to manage the current COVID 19 pandemic and staff were using appropriate levels of PPE (Personal Protective Equipment.)

New menus had been introduced and people's specialist dietary needs were catered for. People were supported to access a range of health and social care appointments to maintain their well-being. 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.

Some redecoration of the home had taken place and further developments were planned or in progress. Improvements were taking place with the outside space to support garden visits during the pandemic. People told us the staff were supportive and delivered personal and appropriate care.

There was a registered manager who was no longer working at the home but had not cancelled their registration with the CQC. We had previously spoken with the provider about this. The current manager was actively pursuing registration.

Audits and checks on the home had improved and the manager had a good understanding of matters that still required attention. Staff told us management of the home had greatly improved and they felt well supported in their roles. The provider met with the manager on a regular basis and visited the home more frequently. People and staff were actively involved in the running of the home and developing support.

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 requires improvement (published 17 January 2020) and there were multiple breaches of regulation. The provider completed an action plan after the last inspection to show what they would do and by when to improve. At this inspection we found improvements had been made and the provider was no longer in breach of regulations.

Why we inspected

This was a planned inspection based on the previous rating.

We carried out an unannounced comprehensive inspection of this service on 25 and 26 November 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: person centred care; safe care and treatment; staffing and leadership (Well-led).

We undertook this focused inspection to check they had followed their action plan and to confirm they now met legal requirements. This report only covers our findings in relation to the Key Questions: Safe, Effective and Well-led which contain those requirements.

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 requires improvement to good. 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 The Pines Residential Care Home 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.