Priors House

Updated 2 December 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.

Inspection team

The inspection team consisted of 3 inspectors and an Expert 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.

Service and service type

Priors 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. Priors House is a care home with 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

The inspection was unannounced.

What we did before the inspection

We reviewed information we had received about the service since the last inspection and sought feedback from the local authority. 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 16 people and 15 relatives about their experiences of the care provided. We spoke with 18 members of staff including the registered manager, deputy manager, team leader, nursing staff, care staff, the head chef, a second chef, a catering assistant, a hostess, the unit manager and 2 housekeeping staff. We also spoke with 3 visiting health professionals for their feedback on working with Priors House,

We looked at 5 people's care plans, 2 people's initial assessments, daily monitoring records, a variety of medicine records, handover records, meeting minutes and carried out observations. We looked at a range of records relating to the management of the service including environmental checks, quality audits and recruitment files.

Updated 2 December 2023

About the service

Priors House is a residential care home providing personal and nursing care for up to 80 people, including people living with dementia. At the time of our inspection there were 62 people using the service. Priors House consists of 4 separate suites over 2 floors which are separated for people who have nursing needs. There are shared lounges and dining rooms across both floors and a café area in reception.

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

Staff were passionate about working at Priors House and were proud of supporting people to have a good quality of life. Care was person centred and opportunities to help people create new memories were valued and encouraged. Many staff had worked at Priors House for a long time and there was an inclusive culture where everybody was valued. Quality and safety within the home was monitored through regular audits with action plans created to drive improvements and there was a strong culture of learning from incidents. People, relatives, staff and professionals had opportunities to engage and provide feedback on the service. Priors House worked in partnership with health professionals and other organisations to improve people’s outcomes and staff had varied opportunities to progress their career. Links were developed with the local community through the provision of dementia awareness raising events and partnerships with a local secondary school.

Staff were trained in recognising and reporting safeguarding concerns and were confident speaking up. People felt safe living at Priors House. Risks around people’s clinical needs were assessed and identified and guidance for staff was included in people's care plans. There were enough staff to meet people’s needs and staff were recruited safely. Medicines were managed safely and people received their medicines as prescribed. We were assured by infection control practices and there were no restrictions on visiting. Lessons were learned following incidents in the home and shared with the staff team.

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. Staff understood how to promote choice for people. People’s needs were assessed before they moved to Priors House. Staff had the knowledge and skills to support people effectively and safely and feedback from people and staff supported this. We received consistently positive feedback about people’s enjoyment of their food and people with specialised diets were supported safely and their nutritional intake was monitored. There was effective communication both internally at Priors House and with external health professionals. Weekly ward rounds ensured people’s health and wellbeing was checked regularly by a GP and frailty nurse and people were referred to other health professionals when they needed to be. People were encouraged to decorate and furnish their rooms to reflect their life and interests.

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 17 December 2019).

Why we inspected

We received concerns about repositioning for people with skin damage and topical creams with concerns that records were completed without the care being provided. It was also prompted due to concerns regarding manual handling and dementia care. As a result, we undertook a focused inspection to review the key questions of safe, effective and well-led only.

We found no evidence during this inspection that people were at risk of harm from these concerns. Please see the safe, effective and well-led sections of this full report.

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 outstanding based on the findings of this inspection.

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