Mount Vale

Updated 10 February 2021

We carried out this inspection under Section 60 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 as part of our regulatory functions. This inspection was planned to check whether the provider is meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Health and Social Care Act 2008.

We received information of concern about infection control and prevention measures at this service. This was a targeted inspection looking at the infection control and prevention measures the provider has in place.

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.

This inspection took place on 18 January 2021 and was unannounced.

Updated 10 February 2021

About the service

Mount Vale is a residential care home providing personal and nursing care to 53 people at the time of the inspection. The service can support up to 62 older and younger adults some of whom are living with dementia.

The ground floor of the service accommodates people with general nursing and residential needs. The first floor (Memory Lane) supports people living with dementia who have nursing or residential needs.

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

Improvements had been made to the way staff recorded people’s behaviours, and the triggers for these behaviours, in relation to people living with dementia. Work had been completed on positive behaviour plans which guided staff on the action needed when dealing with specific behaviours, to ensure people stayed safe and well.

Staff had received training and development around management of dementia; and further training sessions were planned. The provider employed dementia specialist nurses who supported staff in their work with people’s individual strengths to ensure their independence, wishes and choices were promoted.

Staff knew about people’s individual care needs and people said they received good support.

People’s medicines were administered safely, and people said these were given on time and when needed. People told us they felt safe and well supported. The provider followed robust recruitment checks, and enough staff were employed to ensure people’s needs were met.

Staff followed good infection protection and control standards and people said the service was clean and smelt fresh.

Communication was effective. People were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff supported them in the least restrictive way possible; the policies and systems in the service supported this practice.

People ate nutritious, well cooked food, and said they enjoyed their meals. Their health needs were identified, and staff worked with other professionals, to ensure these needs were met.

People participated in a wide range of activities and enjoyed the company of others in the service. People were able to see their families as they wanted. There were no restrictions on when people could visit the service. People were involved in all aspects of their care and were always asked for their consent before staff undertook support tasks.

The service was well-led; systems were in place to assess and improve the quality of the service and complaints were responded to thoroughly. There was an open culture and learning was encouraged to drive improvement.

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

Rating at last inspection

The last rating for this service was good (published 8 August 2017).

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.