Brimstage Manor Care Home

Updated 1 December 2022

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.

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 and 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

Brimstage Manor 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.

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 not a registered manager in post. A new manager had been in post for several months and had submitted an application to register. Following the inspection, the application was successful.

Notice of inspection

This inspection was unannounced.

What we did before the inspection

We looked at the information we held about the service. This information included statutory notifications the provider had sent to CQC. A notification is information about important events which the service is required to send us by law. 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 three people who used the service and 14 relatives about their experience of the care provided. We spoke with six members of staff including the manager, operations manager, care workers and catering staff.

We looked at a range of records. These included five people's records related to their care and support and a variety of people's medicine administration records. A variety of records relating to the management of the service, including policies and procedures were reviewed.

Updated 1 December 2022

About the service

Brimstage Manor is a care home providing personal care to up to 46 people. The service provides support to older people, some of whom are living with dementia. At the time of our inspection there were 38 people using the service.

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

Brimstage Manor Nursing Care Home had an open and transparent culture resulting in an organised, supportive and well-run service. The registered manager was clear about how the service should be provided and they led by example.

Staff were caring and treated people with kindness and respect. There was enough staff on duty to meet people's needs. Incidents and accidents were managed safely, the managers took necessary actions to keep people safe and minimise the risk of reoccurrence.

The provider had systems in place to protect people from the risk of abuse and people told us they felt safe. Risk assessments were completed to help identify and minimise risks people faced. Infection control measures were safe. Steps were taken to learn lessons if things went wrong.

The registered manager provided clear direction and good leadership. Feedback about the service was consistently positive. All the relatives we spoke with would recommend the home to others. Staff felt valued and supported, and were confident people received good care. Systems and processes for monitoring quality and safety were effective.

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.

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 (1 June 2021).

At our last inspection we recommended that the provider reviews and updates its procedures to ensure guidance regarding testing is adhered to in order to minimise risks. At this inspection we found staff completed testing for COVID-19 in line with government guidance to prevent the risk of spreading the virus.

Why we inspected

This inspection was prompted by a review of the information we held about this service.

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.

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

You can read the report from our last comprehensive inspection, by selecting the ‘all reports’ link for Brimstage Manor Nursing Care Home 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.