Archived: Bankfield

Bankfield is a residential care home providing accommodation and personal care to 36 people aged 65 and over at the time of the inspection. The service can support up to 47 people.

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

At this inspection we found the evidence supported the overall rating of good and there was no evidence or information from our inspection and on-going monitoring that demonstrated serious risks or concerns.

Safe systems of recruitment were in place. There were sufficient staff to meet people’s needs and staff received the training and support they needed to carry out their roles.

Medicines were managed safely, and people’s health needs were being met. Staff had received training in safeguarding people from abuse. Staff and people who used the service knew how to raise any concerns and were confident any concerns they raised would be dealt with appropriately. Risks to people were identified and well managed. Care records were person centred, reviewed regularly and updated when people’s needs changed.

People were involved in decisions about their care and the provider was working within the principles of the MCA.

People were positive about the staff and living at the home. The home was well maintained and furnishings were in good condition.

Staff and the manager knew people well. We saw staff were friendly and treated people who live at the home with kindness.

There was a limited range of activities and social events on offer to help promote people’s social interaction. Improvements were being made to the activities in offer. We have made a recommendation that the provider explores further, current good practice guidance on suitable activities particularly for people living with dementia.

The home had a new manager. People were very positive about the new manager and the changes they had made and the way the home was being run. The new manager had introduced a good system of quality assurance checks and audits.

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 December 2016).

Why we inspected

This was a planned inspection based on the previous rating. The inspection was also prompted in part by notification of a safeguarding. This is subject to an investigation. As a result, this inspection did not examine the circumstances of the incident.

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

Bankfield is a care home registered to provide accommodation and personal care for up to 47 elderly people. It is a large purpose built detached home situated in a residential area of Bury. It is close to public transport and is approximately three miles away from the centre of Bury. Forty two people were using the service at the time of our visit.

There was a registered manager in place at the time of the inspection. 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.

The registered manager was present during our inspection. The registered manager was said to be approachable, supportive and a visible leader who had over 30 years experience of working in health and social care. They had clear expectations of the standards that the service was to achieve in relation to individual personal care.

People we spoke with told us they felt safe at the service. There were systems in place to help ensure staff were supported to report any abuse they witnessed or suspected.

The provider carried out the required recruitment checks to ensure that staff were safe to work with vulnerable people. There were sufficient staff on duty to meet people’s needs.

There were procedures in place to ensure people received the appropriate support to manage their medicines. People were cared for in a safe and clean environment.

Care records we reviewed contained risk assessments and information for staff to follow in order to manage the identified risks.

Staff had an understanding of how to keep people safe and protect their rights should they be unable to consent to the care and support they required.

Staff spoke positively about working at the service. Staff told us that they worked well as a team which helped ensure people were not overlooked and individual needs were met.

People were supported to access the health services they needed. Staff monitored people’s nutritional needs and encouraged them to maintain a healthy diet.

We saw that six health and social care professionals had recently completed a quality monitoring review for professional visitors. They had rated the home as excellent and good. Comments included, “ A wonderful home lead by an excellent manager which then cascades through the care home to staff members. Well done to all” and “Staff are professional at all times and are approachable.”

The atmosphere at the service was friendly, calm and relaxed and people appeared well dressed and cared for. People we spoke with spoke positively about the service and the staff. They said, “I’m glad to be here, in the company, I suffered awfully at home,” “They’ve been very nice, like an ordinary home,” “They’re very kind” and “They’re fantastic here everything is good.”

The involvement of family and friends in the service was actively encouraged. Where people lacked capacity and had no family or friends an independent mental capacity advocate was involved in overseeing their best interests.

We saw that the service had been involved in the NHS National Institute for Health Research Enabling Research In Care Homes (ENRICH) programme. This is a way to help find better ways of looking after people who use the service and improve their health care and quality of life.

The service had won an award for the development of an oral care pictorial recording tool, to help support people with dementia who may be resistant to having their teeth cleaned. The recording tool was now being used by other services.

Systems were in place to support people and their family and friends through the end of life process, which included an annual remembrance service. Relatives were able to leave comments if they wanted to. One relative commented, “What a lovely opportunity to come back and see old friends! It’s like coming home!”

Records contained relevant information, which were stored securely and easily accessible by staff.

People were able to participate in activities if they wanted to. This helped to ensure their emotional health and wellbeing.

There was a system in place for handling and responding to complaints. People told us that they were confident that the registered manager would deal with any concerns that they raised.

People spoke highly about the registered manager. They said, A person who used the service said, “I’m very friendly with the boss [registered manager].” A relative said, “I get on very well with [registered manager], she is open minded. The whole family is happy with the care here.”

Staff said, “[Registered manager] really does care about people”, “[Registered manager] is visible and knows what is going on” and “The [registered manager] has high standards and knows what good care is.”

A number of health, safety and quality assurance processes were in place which included people’s views and opinions about the service.

We arrived at the home at 06:55 to undertake our inspection. We identified that the allegations did have some substance to them, in that the night staff were required to ensure some people were up and dressed before the day staff came on duty at 07:00 hours. We found however, that the provider was meeting the essential standards of quality and safety in relation to the care and welfare of people using the service.

The handling of medicines was not as safe as it should have been. This could place people's safety, health and well being at risk.

People were cared for by a sufficient number of staff who were suitably trained. This helps ensure the safety and welfare of the people using the service.

The complaints procedure in place ensured people were given clear guidance on how to make a complaint.