The White House Care Home

Updated 1 February 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

The inspection was carried out by 1 inspector.

Service and service type

The White House is a ‘care home’. People in care homes receive accommodation and nursing and/or personal care as a single package under one contractual agreement dependent on their registration with us. The White House is a care home without nursing care. 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 was a registered manager in post.

Notice of inspection

We gave a short period notice of the inspection because it was carried out at the weekend. We needed to be sure a manager would be available to support the inspection.

What we did before inspection

We reviewed information we had received about the service since the last inspection. We used the information the provider sent us in the provider information return (PIR). This is information providers are required to send us annually with key information about their service, what they do well, and improvements they plan to make. We used all this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection

We spoke with 4 members of staff, the registered manager and the providers operations director. We spoke with 5 people. We looked at 2 people’s care plans, Medicine Administration Records (MAR) and other records relating to the running of the service including rotas, policies and procedures and training records.

Updated 1 February 2023

About the service

The White House Care Home is a residential care home providing personal care for up to 34 people. The service provides support to older people some of whom may be living with dementia. At the time of our inspection there were 30 people using the service.

The White House is an older style property based near the centre of Bodmin. Accommodation is spread over 3 floors.

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

There were enough staff to support people safely. Staff were unhurried in their approach and responded to call bells quickly. The registered manager was proactive in their approach to recruitment; for example, they had sourced accommodation for new employees moving into the area.

People received medicines safely and as prescribed. Staff administering medicines had received training which was regularly refreshed. Competency assessments were completed to ensure staff continued to follow good working practice when administering medicines.

Staff were aware if people were at risk due to their health condition. Risk assessments contained guidance on how to minimise risks. Where necessary external health care professionals worked with the service to help ensure people’s health was safely monitored and action taken to support people appropriately.

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.

The registered manager was supported in the service by two deputy managers. All were visible in the service and worked alongside staff as needed. This meant they were aware of the culture of the service and able to check staff reflected their values.

There were systems in place to gather people’s feedback. Although there was no formal system for gathering relative’s feedback there was a suggestion book in the foyer. Managers told us they spoke with relatives regularly.

The provider's operations director visited the service regularly. They completed audits covering all aspects of the management of the service. Action plans were then developed to help drive improvement. In addition, they spoke to residents and completed dining room observations. This meant people’s experience of living at The White House was captured.

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 good (published 11 August 2018)

Why we inspected

This inspection was prompted by a review of the information we held about this service. We undertook a focused inspection to review the key questions of safe and well-led only. For those key questions not inspected, we used the ratings awarded at the last inspection to calculate the overall rating.

The overall rating for the service has remained good based on the findings of this inspection.

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.

Follow up

We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service, which will help inform when we next inspect.