Eastwood House Care Home

Eastwood House is a care home providing accommodation and personal care. It can accommodate up to 37 people. At the time of our inspection there were 32 people using the service. Some people were living with dementia.

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

Since our last inspection we found systems and processes to monitor and improve the home had been reviewed to ensure improvements were identified and acted on.

People told us they felt happy and safe living at the home. Risks associated with people's care had been identified and managed to keep people safe.

People were safeguarded from the risk of abuse and systems in place helped to protect people. During our inspection we found sufficient staff available to support people. We also viewed the providers dependency tool which was used to help calculate the number of staff required.

Recruitment had been carried out safely and in line with the providers recruitment policy. People received their medicines as prescribed. Accidents and incidents were being monitored and action taken when things went wrong.

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

Person centred care was promoted by the management team and staff. Staff were promoting people to be independent and involved in their care. Care plans clearly included information which was personal to each person.

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 requires improvement (published 24 March 2022). The provider completed an action plan after the last inspection to show what they would do and by when to improve.

At this inspection we found improvements had been made and the provider was no longer in breach of regulations.

Why we inspected

We received concerns in relation to fire safety and environmental concerns. As a result, we undertook a focused inspection to review the key questions of safe and well-led only.

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.

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 changed from requires improvement to good based on the findings of this inspection.

You can read the report from our last comprehensive inspection, by selecting the ‘all reports’ link for Eastwood on our website at www.cqc.org.uk.

Follow up

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

Eastwood House is a care home providing personal care. It can accommodate up to 37 people. Some people using the service were living with dementia. There were 35 people using the service at the time of the inspection.

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

Risks were not effectively managed to ensure people’s needs were met. We found the documentation in place did not always evidence appropriate actions were followed by staff to ensure risks were mitigated. Medication systems were not always followed by staff to ensure medicines were administered as prescribed. The environment was not always well maintained, and areas were not clean. We observed staff did not follow best practice for infection control procedures causing potential risk of cross infection and contamination.

There were adequate staff on duty when we carried out the site visits. Staff conformed this. However, staff said they often had to assist on other units, which impacted negatively on people. This was changed following our inspection.

The quality monitoring systems were not effective. The issues we identified at inspection had not been picked up by the audit systems. The registered manager and the providers have since our site visit, been addressing this to ensure the systems are used, shortfalls identified, and action plans developed to ensure improvements.

People told us the staff were good, relatives also told us the staff were lovely. We observed when staff interacted with people, they were kind and caring. However, staff did not involve people in decisions and did not communicate effectively with people. The environment was not dementia friendly, there was no signs to guide people, there was little or no stimulation to interest or engage people and promote their well-being. There was not an effective strategy to promote a person-centred culture that achieved good outcomes for people.

Incidents and accidents were recorded appropriately to ensure lessons were learnt. Staff we spoke with understood safeguarding procedures and whistleblowing and all stated they would report any issues immediately.

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 18 March 2020)

Why we inspected

The inspection was prompted in part due to concerns received about infection, prevention and control raised by a visiting professional and the local authority. A decision was made for us to inspect and examine those risks. Further risks were identified at the site visit on 17 February 2022; therefore, a decision was made to complete a focused inspection to review the key questions of safe and well led.

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. This included checking the provider was meeting COVID-19 vaccination requirements.

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 changed from good to requires improvement based on the findings of this inspection.

We have found evidence that the provider needs to make improvement. We have identified a breach in relation to safe care and treatment and governance at this inspection Please see all sections of this full report.

You can see what action we have asked the provider to take at the end of this full report.

You can read the report from our last comprehensive inspection, by selecting the ‘all reports’ link for Eastwood House Care Home on our website at www.cqc.org.uk.

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.

We found the following examples of good practice.

The provider had a system in place to enable relatives to visit their family members in a safe way by the provision of a pod and facilitating window visits. Family members also made use of social media, video and telephone calls.

On arrival to the home, visitors were asked to use hand sanitiser and use the PPE provided prior to moving from the entrance area. Donning and doffing instructions were available for visitors to refer to.

Social distancing was observed as far as it was practicable to do so. Staff wore appropriate personal protective equipment (PPE), regularly washed their hands and applied hand sanitiser. Staff had completed training in infection control and COVID-19. Processes were in place for staff to put on, take off and dispose of PPE.

Staff and people using the service took part in the home’s testing programme. Staff were tested three times a week. Therefore, swift action could be taken when anyone tested positive.

The home was clean and there were no malodours. However, some areas of the home required attention to enable them to be cleaned effectively. These concerns were swiftly addressed by the registered manager. Staff had access to cleaning products and cleaning schedules included high touch areas such as door handles and handrails, which were cleaned regularly.

We were assured that this service met good infection prevention and control guidelines.

Eastwood House is a care home providing accommodation for up to 37 people who require personal care. At the time of our inspection there were 35 people using the service. Eastwood House care home is a large converted house located close to the centre of Rotherham. The care provided is for people who have needs associated with those of older age and people living with dementia.

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

We completed a tour of the home with the registered manager and found the home was clean. However, we noted some toilets and the hair salon needed attention. The registered manager had previously been identified this and plans were in place to ensure this work was carried out.

Risks associated with people's care had been identified and risk assessments detailed the support people needed to remain safe. People were safeguarded from the risk of abuse and staff knew how to recognise and report concerns. Accident and incidents were monitored to ensure lessons were learned. There were sufficient staff available to meet people's needs and to support them in line with their preferences. People’s medicines were securely stored, and people received them as prescribed.

The service was designed in a way which met people's needs. People's needs were assessed, and people were supported in line with them. Care plans gave information about people's dietary needs and what assistance they required. People had access to outside space and a well-maintained garden area. People had access to healthcare services.

We observed staff interacting with people who used the service and found they were supportive, caring and knew people well. Staff we spoke with explained how they would ensure people's privacy and dignity were maintained and how they promoted people’s independence.

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.

Care plans were person centred and people were involved in their care. People had access to a range of activities which gave social stimulation. Complaints were addressed appropriately. People felt able to raise complaints and felt appropriate action would be taken if they had cause to complain about anything.

The provider had a system in place to monitor the service. Several audits took place and the management team addressed any issues arising. People who used the service and their relatives had opportunities to feedback their experience. Staff felt listened to, supported and involved in the service.

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 5 May 2015). There was also an inspection on 22 August 2017 however, the report following that inspection was withdrawn as there was an issue with some of the information that we gathered.

Why we inspected

This is a planned re-inspection because of the issue highlighted above.

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.