Deer Park Care Home

Updated 28 January 2023

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 Health and Social Care Act 2008.

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

Two inspectors visited the home on the first day. On the second day of the inspection one inspector and an expert by experience visited the home. On the third day, verbal feedback was given to the provider and interim manager. During the inspection, a second Expert by Experience spoke with people who visited the home. An Expert by Experience is a person who has personal experience of using or caring for someone who uses this type of care service.

Service and service type

Deer Park Care 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.

Registered Manager

This provider is required to have a registered manager to oversee the delivery of regulated activities at this location. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission to manage the service. Registered managers and providers are legally responsible for how the service is run, for the quality and safety of the care provided and compliance with regulations.

At the time of our inspection there a registered manager in post.

Notice of inspection

The 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 professionals who work with the service.

During the inspection

We met with the provider and the interim manager. The provider is also the Nominated Individual, this means they are responsible for supervising the management of the service. We spoke with nine staff members, 11 people living at the home and eight relatives. 18 staff responded to a CQC questions sent out during our inspection. 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 comment directly on their experiences.

We reviewed a range of records. This included four people's care records, including fluid and pressure relieving charts, activities, and a selection of medication records. We looked at two staff files in relation to recruitment. We reviewed accident and incident records, minutes from meetings, staff rotas, information on staff training and supervision. We looked at records relating to the management of the service, including the improvement plan for the service.

We continued to seek clarification from the provider to validate evidence found and establish what action had been taken place to keep people safe. We looked at training data and quality assurance records. During a multi-disciplinary meeting, we gathered feedback from health and social care professionals who had contact with the service.

Updated 28 January 2023

About the service

Deer Park Care Home is a residential care home providing personal care to older people, some of whom are living with dementia. On the first day of inspection there were 21 people living at the home, and on the second day there were 22 people, which included a person on respite. The service can support up to 56 people in a purpose-built building which has two floors and a passenger lift.

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

We identified areas for improvement in some aspects of staff training and supervision. We found there was a new breach linked to good governance. Since October 2020, the Care Quality Commission (CQC) have inspected this service eight times to address different concerns. We have taken enforcement action to drive improvement in the service. At this inspection, we saw evidence of improvements but found they still needed time to be embedded and sustained by a new staffing and management structure.

People received their medicines as prescribed, and there were safe systems in place to manage the storage, administration and disposal of medicines. Systems were in place to safeguard people; staff recruitment was well managed.

People and relatives were positive about the staff group. Relatives told us, " My relative is cared for by the staff who seem to be consistent and have been there for a while” and “The staff are brilliant, they are caring … The staff inform us if there are any issues and keep us up to date. She has lots of family visitors and they are looked after too.” We saw people had good relationships with staff.

Improving staff morale and teamwork had been an on-going process. However, on this inspection there was positive feedback from the staff group and praise for the current management team.

The interim manager recognised further work was needed to enhance the staff group's training and to maintain teamwork. They also recognised the staff group would need to develop their skills in their pre-admission assessments before people moved permanently to the service.

The home was clean, and staff adopted good infection control measures. 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. A staff member said, “I hope that Deer Park can move forward to 2023, showing the local community and further a field that it is a lovely home, that has excellent caring staff a supportive management and residents have full and happy lives in their twilight years.”

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 10 May 2022). The service remains rated requires improvement.

Why we inspected

This inspection was prompted by a review of the information we held about this service.

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 COVID-19 and other infection outbreaks effectively.

Enforcement and Recommendations

The previous manager completed a service improvement plan after the last inspection to show what they would do and by when to improve. They also provided monthly reports relating to audits and how risks to people’s health were managed in the service. The interim manager has continued sending CQC monthly reports and was updating the service improvement plan at the time of the inspection.

We have identified a breach in relation to the monitoring of the quality of care, consulting with people living at the service and staff performance at this inspection. We also judged there was an on-going breach relating to training, staff support and induction.

We have made a recommendation linked to the layout of the laundry to improve infection control.

Please see the action we have told the provider to take at the end of this report.

Follow up

We will request an action plan from the provider to understand what they will do to improve the standards of quality and safety. We will work alongside the provider and local authority to monitor progress. We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service, which will help inform when we next inspect.