Bowerswood House Residential Home Limited

Updated 27 March 2021

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.

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 one inspector.

Service and service type

Bowerswood House Residential 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.

The service had a manager registered with the Care Quality Commission. This means that they and the provider are legally responsible for how the service is run and for the quality and safety of the care provided.

Notice of inspection

We gave the service 24 hours’ notice of the inspection. This was so we could be assured we followed the providers risk controls in relation to Covid-19 and to ensure the management team were available to support the inspection.

What we did before the inspection

The provider was not asked to complete a provider information return prior to this inspection. This is information we require providers to send us to give some key information about the service, what the service does well and improvements they plan to make. We took this into account when we inspected the service and made the judgements in this report. We reviewed information we had received and held on our system about the service, this included notifications sent to us by the provider and information passed to us by members of the public. We used all this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection

We spoke with five people who used the service. We also spoke with the manager, the deputy manager and four care staff. In addition, we also spoke with the cook. We looked at five care records and multiple medication records. We also looked at a staff recruitment file, audits and environmental checks.

After the inspection

We continued to seek clarification from the provider to validate evidence found. We looked at records. We also spoke with two relatives by phone.

Updated 27 March 2021

About the service

Bowerswood House Residential Home Limited is a care home providing personal and nursing care for up to 24 people. The home is set on two levels. There is a lounge and dining room located on the ground floor. Bedrooms are located on both floors and there is a lift to the second floor.

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

Governance systems were implemented to drive improvements at the home and further audits were being introduced to identify shortfalls.

People were supported by staff who had undergone sufficient recruitment checks to help ensure they could support people who may be vulnerable. Staffing was arranged so people had their needs met quickly and staff undertook training and supervision to maintain their skills.

Medicines were managed safely and staff had been assessed as competent to administer medicines. There was a safeguarding policy to ensure staff could raise concerns if they believed people were at risk of harm. The environment was clean, and refurbishment was taking place at the home. Equipment was serviced to check it was safe to use.

Risks to people were assessed and documented. If people needed medical advice this was arranged for them and changes made to their care to support their well-being. People were provided with a choice of meals and snacks and were supported by staff to eat and drink if this was needed. Staff knew the help people needed to remain safe and people spoke highly of the staff.

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.

People were able to take part in activities they enjoyed and there was an organised programme of activities for people to take part in. People told us they were happy at the home and were confident any comments or complaints would be resolved.

People were consulted and asked their views on the service provided. Surveys were available to enable people to share their views. Audits and checks were carried out to see if improvements were required. There was a documented action plan to enable management to check required actions were being completed.

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 30 July 2020). We found the improvements were required and the provider was in breach of regulations. Medicines were not managed safely, and audit systems had not identified the shortfalls we found on inspection. 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 carried out an announced focused inspection of this service on 15 July 2020. A breach of legal requirements were found. The provider completed an action plan after the last inspection to show what they would do and by when to improve the safe care and treatment and good governance.

We undertook this focused inspection to check they had followed their action plan and to confirm they now met legal requirements. We also checked recommendations we had made to improve the service. This report only covers our findings in relation to the Key Questions Safe, Effective, Responsive and Well-led which contain those requirements and recommendations.

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.

We reviewed the information we held about the service. No areas of concern were identified in the other key questions. We therefore did not inspect them. Ratings from previous comprehensive inspections for those key questions were used in calculating the overall rating at this inspection.

The overall rating for the service has changed from requires improvement to good. This is based on the findings at this inspection.

You can read the report from our last comprehensive inspection, by selecting the ‘all reports’ link for Bowerswood House Residential 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.