This was an unannounced inspection which took place on 14 August 2017 and 17 August 2017. The registered manager was given notice of the second date as we needed to spend time with her to discuss aspects of the inspection and to gather further information.Hooklands Care Home with Nursing provides accommodation for up to 27 older people who require nursing or personal care and who may be living with dementia. The home is located in Bracklesham Bay and the garden backs onto the sea. Communal areas include two lounges and a dining area. There is a lift to access bedrooms on the first and second floors. At the time of our inspection 19 people were living at the home. Of these, 16 people required nursing care and 10 people were living with dementia.
During our inspection the registered manager was present. 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.
We previously inspected the home in January 2017,which was the first inspection since the home was purchased and registered to be operated by a new provider. At the January 2017 inspection five breaches of regulations were identified. These related to safe care and treatment as risks to people’s health and wellbeing were not being managed safely and staff were not being provided with sufficient training and support in order to provide safe and effective care. Also, recruitment practices were not robust as checks were not undertaken to ensure staff did not pose a risk to people. Mental capacity assessments had not been completed and applications had not been made to the authorising authority for people who were being deprived of their liberty. Quality monitoring systems were not in place and as a result shortfalls in service provision were not being identified and acted upon.
In response, the registered manager and provider sent us an action plan that detailed the steps that would be taken to achieve compliance. The home was rated ‘Requires Improvement’ in the Effective, Caring, Responsive and Well Led domains and ‘Inadequate’ in the safe domain. An overall rating of ‘Requires Improvement’ was awarded.
At this inspection we found that improvements had taken place with regards to recruitment practices and consent to care. However, insufficient action had been taken and a further deterioration had taken place in relation to safe care and treatment, staff training and support, and, good governance. Also, new concerns were identified in relation to the environment, safeguarding, staffing levels and statutory notifications and breaches of regulations were identified in these areas. You can see what action we told the provider to take at the back of the full version of the report. Full information about CQC’s regulatory response to any concerns found during inspections is added to reports after any representations and appeals have been concluded.
There was no equipment such as sensory devices available in the home to alert staff if people fell and needed assistance. Referrals to external professionals had not been made when people fell to ensure action was taken to minimise the risk of further falls. Risk assessments and care plans were either not in place or incomplete for people who were at risk of choking. Skin and wound care management was not always robust. There was a lack of information about risks associated with choking and the provision of pureed meals meant that staff unfamiliar with the needs of people might give people meals that placed them at risk of harm. Medicine records were not complete and as a result could not be used to establish if people had received medicines as prescribed.
We identified multiple safeguarding concerns that placed the majority of people who lived at the home at risk of harm or poor care. As such, we shared the concerns that we identified during the inspection with West Sussex County Council Adult Services safeguarding team in order that they could consider these in line with their safeguarding procedures. As a result, representatives of the Council are reviewing everyone’s needs and multiple safeguarding enquiries are currently taking place. Whilst the reviews are taking place the local authority are supporting the provider to make improvements to the care provided to people. Representatives of the local authority are visiting the home on a regular basis as part of this process. The local authority have suspended placing new people at the home and the provider has also agreed not to admit any privately funded people or new people from any other local authority.
The registered manager had not submitted safeguarding referrals' to the local authority or statutory notifications to CQC when concerns were identified that related to neglect of care or acts of omission. Staff had not received safeguarding training and did not report potential safeguarding concerns despite being able to explain their responsibilities to do this.
There had been a decline in staff morale due to a lack of formal support provided and the reliance of high numbers of agency staff to fill vacancies. Minimal training had been provided and this was not consistent and some staff had not been able to attend due to having to cover shifts at the home. Staff had not been provided with training in first aid, moving and handling and dementia care. People living with dementia did not receive a personalised service and nurses did not have sufficient knowledge to provide effective care and to meet people’s individual nursing needs. Staffing levels were not sufficient to meet the needs of people who lived at the home. This resulted in people having to spend extended periods of time in their rooms in order to keep them safe.
Quality monitoring systems were still ineffective at identifying and driving improvements. Audits were minimal, had not been completed on a regular basis and had not identified the issues found at the inspection. The provider had not ensured sufficient oversight of the service provided to people and had not fulfilled his legal responsibilities to ensure compliance with the regulations. The provider had not recognised when quality and safety was compromised and as a result had not responded appropriately. He had not sought professional advice for areas outside of his expertise. He had not ensured systems and processes monitored and improved the quality and safety of service provided to people. The registered manager acknowledged that she was not fulfilling her responsibilities and had submitted her resignation.
Since our last inspection the flooring in the communal areas had been replaced and more homely lighting fitted in the home. Chairs were in the process of being replaced and new blinds were due to be fitted to lounge windows. However, we found that people had not been able to access or use the garden area during the summer and that there was no garden furniture or sun parasols that people could have used. There was very little in the way of visual stimulation for people living with dementia.
In the main, people expressed satisfaction with the meals provided. Despite this, we found that people who required a specialised diet did not have the same range of choices as people who had a normal diet.
Despite the poor staff morale we saw that they were dedicated and tried to ensure people received a caring service. There was genuine warmth between people and the permanent staff and it was apparent that positive relationships had been formed. People told us that staff treated them with dignity and respect and that they were happy with the support they received with personal care. Relatives also confirmed that they were welcomed when visiting their family members.
There had been an improvement in the recruitment processes and practices at the home.
Since our last inspection advice had been sought from an external professional about The Mental Capacity Act (MCA) 2005 and training had been provided to staff. Where necessary, people now had MCA assessments completed and applications had been submitted to the relevant authority when people needed to have their liberty deprived for reasons of safety.
The overall rating for this service is ‘Inadequate’ and the service is therefore in ‘special measures’.
Services in special measures will be kept under review and, if we have not taken immediate action to propose to cancel the provider’s registration of the service, will be inspected again within six months. The expectation is that providers found to have been providing inadequate care should have made significant improvements within this timeframe.
If not enough improvement is made within this timeframe so that there is still a rating of inadequate for any key question or overall, we will take action in line with our enforcement procedures to begin the process of preventing the provider from operating this service. This will lead to cancelling their registration or to varying the terms of their registration within six months if they do not improve. This service will continue to be kept under review and, if needed, could be escalated to urgent enforcement action.