Archived: Campden Area Home Nursing Trust

Updated 20 December 2016

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, to look at the overall quality of the service, and to provide a rating for the service under the Care Act 2014.

The inspection took place on 1 December 2016 and was announced. We gave the service notice of the inspection because it is small and the manager is often out of the office, so we needed to be sure they would be in. One inspector carried out this inspection. Prior to the inspection we looked at information we had about the service. This included notifications that had been submitted by them. A notification is a report about important events which the service is required to send us by law.

As part of this inspection we spoke with two relatives and looked at feedback the provider had received. We did not speak with people who were currently using the service because this would have been a difficult time for them. We spoke with the registered manager, three GP’s, two community nurses and three nurses employed by the service. We also spoke with two members of the board of trustees. We reviewed the care records for six people. We also looked at the recruitment records for two staff, staff training records, minutes of meetings and quality assurance systems. We looked at letters and cards that had been received by the service and have reflected some of their comments.

Updated 20 December 2016

This was an announced inspection which took place on the 1 December 2016. Campden Surgery, known locally as Campden Home Nursing supports people in their own homes who have life-limiting illnesses. It was established in 1990 to support people who are either at the end of their lives and receiving palliative care or be experiencing a period of time during their illness where they and their family need extra support, for example during chemotherapy treatment.

The service worked in conjunction with GPs and community based nurses and was provided to people who live within a 12 mile radius of Chipping Campden in Gloucestershire. This included the surgeries at Evesham, Moreton in Marsh, Chipping Campden, Mickleton, Bredon and occasionally Bidford on Avon.

There was a registered manager in post. 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.

At the time of the inspection the service was supporting one person. Over the past year they had been involved with 25 people. Health and social care professionals referred people to the service for support or people and their families could refer themselves. Campden Home Nursing worked in partnership with community nurses who were the lead healthcare professional.

People and their families received care, treatment and support which reflected their individual needs and wishes. The service tried to respond quickly to crises. Nurses worked closely with other health care professionals to make sure the care people received was responsive to their changing needs. People’s safety was paramount ensuring they received their medicines when they needed them, they had access to the right equipment and support. Nurses had access to out of normal working hours support should they need a second opinion or advice. They supported people with very complex needs and it was important they liaised closely with other health care professionals, hospices and domiciliary care agencies.

People’s families were appreciative of the compassion with which people were supported at a very difficult time. This included help, comfort and a “listening ear” for them. A relative talked about her own emotions and how Campden Home Nursing had helped her and her mother come to terms with their situation. The relative commented, “I can’t praise them enough. How grateful I was. Even afterwards they checked on me to see if I was alright. They cared for me.” The registered manager told us, “It’s almost not about nursing, it’s about emotional and spiritual support.” Nurses spoke about their pride and the privilege of supporting people at the end of their lives.

People were supported to eat and drink if needed. They were treated with dignity and compassion. Nurses respected their individual wishes such as having a bath to relax or wishing to wear make-up and have their hair done. One nurse had been asked to pray with a person because they had the same religious beliefs. Robust communication with families, GP’s and community nurses was maintained ensuring continuity of care and that any changes were immediately raised and dealt with.

The service was well managed and organised. GP’s and community nurses had confidence in their ability to be able to help them out. They told us, “It’s an amazing organisation, it transforms palliative care for us as GP’s” and they are “so quick at responding to a crisis and providing urgent input”. The board of trustees were responsible for overseeing the high standards of care, support and treatment. They recognised changes were needed to maintain and improve these such as improving documentation and appointing new personnel. Nurses were supported to access training and individual support to maintain their professional development. A nurse told us, “We have regular meetings, and this enables us to meet my colleagues and this is particularly useful to evaluate our care, or update each other in all aspects of nursing relevant to our job. It is a good support group, and we all share a passion for our job.”