Acorn Heights Care Home

Updated 20 November 2020

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.

As part of CQC’s response to the coronavirus pandemic we are conducting a thematic review of infection control and prevention measures in care homes. The service was selected to take part in this thematic review which is seeking to identify examples of good practice in infection prevention and control.

This inspection took place on 11 November 2020 and was announced.

Updated 20 November 2020

We carried out an inspection of Acorn Heights Care Home on 10 and 11 April 2018. The first day was unannounced.

At our last inspection of 12 and 13 April 2017 our findings demonstrated there were six continued breaches of the regulations in respect of the assessment and management of risks, care planning, environment, Deprivation of Liberty processes, recruitment processes and quality assurance systems. Following the last inspection we asked the provider to complete an action plan to show what they would do to improve the service to at least good and by when.

Following the last inspection the clinical commissioning group medicines optimisation team and local commissioners of services had worked with the management team and staff to support them with improvements.

During this inspection we found that improvements had been made and all regulations were being met.

The registered manager had been in post since April 2017 and registered with the Care Quality Commission in August 2017. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission to manage the service. Like registered providers, they are ‘registered persons’. Registered persons have legal responsibility for meeting the requirements in the Health and Social Care Act 2008 and associated Regulations about how the service is run.

Acorn Heights Care Home provides accommodation and care and support for up to 22 people, some of who were living with dementia or mental ill health. There were 22 people accommodated in the home at the time of the inspection.

Acorn Heights Care Home is a ‘care home’. People in care homes receive accommodation and nursing or personal care as single package under one contractual agreement. Care Quality Commission (CQC) regulates both the premises and the care provided, and both were looked at during this inspection.

Acorn Heights Care Home is located on a main road close to the town centre facilities of Burnley. It is an older detached house with facilities on two floors. There is a small car parking area to the front of the home and an enclosed patio and smoking area to the rear.

During this inspection we found new quality assurance and auditing processes had been introduced to help the provider and the registered manager to effectively identify and respond to matters needing attention. The systems to obtain the views of people, their visitors and staff had been improved. People felt their views and choices were listened to and they were kept up to date with any changes.

The management team and staff had worked hard to introduce much needed changes and improvements. People and staff were happy with the improvements that had been made and considered the service was managed well. Communication had improved and people felt they had been involved in decisions and consulted about any changes.

People were happy with the personal care and support they received and made positive comments about the staff. They told us they felt safe and happy in the home and staff were caring. People were comfortable in the company of staff and it was clear they had developed positive trusting relationships with them. Staff understood how to protect people from abuse.

Records relating to people's care and support had improved. The information in people's care plans was sufficiently detailed to ensure they were at the centre of their care. People's care and support was kept under review and they were involved in decisions about their care. Risks to people's health and safety had been identified, assessed and managed safely. Relevant health and social care professionals provided advice and support when people's needs changed.

Improvements had been made to ensure the home was a clean, safe and comfortable place for people to live in. Appropriate aids and adaptations had been provided to help maintain people's safety, independence and comfort.

The recruitment of new staff had improved. A safe and robust recruitment procedure was followed to ensure new staff were suitable to care for vulnerable people. Arrangements were in place to make sure staff were trained and competent. People considered there were enough suitably skilled staff to support them when they needed any help. Staffing levels were monitored to ensure sufficient staff were available.

People's medicines were managed in a safe manner. People had their medicines when they needed them. Staff administering medicines had received training and supervision to do this safely.

People were supported to have 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. Staff respected people's diversity and promoted people's right to be free from discrimination.

People had access to a range of appropriate activities both inside the house and in the local community. People's nutritional needs were monitored and reviewed. People were given a choice of meals and staff knew their likes and dislikes.

People told us they were happy and did not have any complaints. They knew how to raise their concerns and compliments and were confident they would be listened to.