Aire View Care Home

Updated 14 September 2019

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

On the first day of our inspection, the inspection team consisted of three inspectors, a specialist advisor in medicines and two Experts by Experience. An Expert by Experience is a person who has personal experience of using or caring for someone who uses this type of care service. Our Experts by Experience had knowledge about people living in a residential environment. One inspector carried out the second day inspection.

Service and service type

Aire View Nursing 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 home had a manager registered with the Care Quality Commission. This meant they and the provider were legally responsible for how the service was run and for the quality and safety of the care provided.

Notice of inspection

This inspection was unannounced.

What we did before the inspection

Before the inspection, we reviewed the information we held about the service, including statutory notifications. Notifications are used to inform CQC about certain changes, events or incidents that occur. We requested feedback from stakeholders. These included the local authority safeguarding and commissioning team and Healthwatch England. Healthwatch England is an independent consumer champion that gathers and represents the views of the public about health and social care services in England. The provider had completed a Provider Information Return (PIR). The PIR is a form providers are required to send us which contains 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 20 people who used the service and eight relatives, across all the floors, about their experience of the care provided. We spoke with the registered manager, deputy manager, two senior care staff, seven care staff and the chef.

We reviewed documents and records that related to the management of the service, including a range of policies, procedures and guidance used by staff in their role, records of safeguarding and complaints, audits and quality assurance reports. We reviewed six staff member’s files and records associated with the management and administration of people’s medicines. We looked at six people’s care plans in detail.

After the inspection

After the inspection, additional evidence was sent to us and this information was used as part of our inspection.

Updated 14 September 2019

About the service

Aire View Care Home consists of an 84-bed facility across three floors with an emphasis on independent living. All rooms have en-suite shower and toilet facilities. There are several lounges, dining and quiet areas. All floors are connected by a passenger lift. On both days of our inspection there were 79 people living at Aire View.

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

The registered manager and the deputy manager were responsive to any concerns we raised during the inspection; implementing corrective actions immediately where this was apparent and discussing plans where further improvements were required.

Care plans were mostly person-centred, but they had not consistently been updated and reviewed to ensure they reflected people’s current needs. The registered manager had put plans in place to address this. Staff understood the importance of providing person-centred care and had developed positive relationships with people.

The management of people’s medicines was safe. There were enough staff deployed on both days of the inspection to ensure people received their required care and support. The provider followed safe recruitment procedures. People felt safe and staff understood how to identify and report any safeguarding concerns. Risks to people’s health and safety were assessed and mitigated. Effective management systems for the prevention and control of infection had been established. Some carpets and furniture were in the process of being replaced.

The service had been suitably adapted to include the use of signage and decoration to assist people to orientate themselves. There was easy access to a large well-maintained the garden with stimulating features. The provider was taking steps to make the living environment more dementia friendly.

Staff had received appropriate induction, had completed mandatory training and supervision was conducted. The registered manager said they were a little behind with staff appraisals but had plans in place to address this. The registered manager displayed a commitment to providing high quality person-centred care. People told us staff were kind and caring and we saw people’s dignity and privacy were respected. Staff had a clear understanding of, and how to support, people's individual and diverse needs. People received enough to eat, and drink and their mealtime experience was unhurried, relaxed and people received the right amount of support in a timely way. People were supported to use and access other healthcare professionals.

People had access to a good range of activities and the provider worked with other organisations, to meet people’s needs. 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, relatives and staff had the opportunity to provide feedback on the service received. There was a system to respond to any complaints. People and their relatives were supported to receive information in an accessible way to enable them to be involved in their care and support. The service had a quality assurance system in place. Accidents and incidents were analysed, and action taken were needed. Staff said the registered manager was supportive and approachable.

We have made a recommendation in the ‘responsive’ section of the full report about some areas of people’s care plans and the care planning process.

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 Good (published 19 March 2017).

Why we inspected

This was a planned inspection based on the previous rating.

Follow up

We will continue to monitor the service through information we receive. Further inspections will be planned for future dates as per our re-inspection programme. If any concerning information is received, we may inspect sooner.