Blackley Premier Care

Updated 28 October 2020

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.

This was a targeted inspection looking at the infection control and prevention measures the provider has in place. As part of CQC’s response to the coronavirus pandemic we are conducting a thematic review of infection control and prevention measures in care homes. This inspection took place on 14 October 2020 and was announced.

Blackley Premier Care is a residential care home that provides accommodation and personal care for up to 18 people, some of whom are living with dementia. The service was selected to take part in this thematic review, which is seeking to identify examples of good practice in infection prevention and control.

Updated 28 October 2020

This was an unannounced inspection that took place on the 31 January 2019.

Blackley Premier Care is a 'care home', people in care homes receive accommodation and personal care as single package under one contractual agreement. CQC regulates both the premises and the care provided, and both were looked at during this inspection. Blackley Premier Care is registered to provide accommodation and personal care to 16 people, some of whom are living with dementia. There were 13 people living at the home at the time of our inspection.

At our last inspection on 19 September 2016 we rated the service good. At this inspection we found the evidence continued to support the rating of good and there was no evidence or information from our inspection and ongoing monitoring that demonstrated serious risks or concerns. This inspection report is written in a shorter format because our overall rating of the service has not changed since our last inspection.

At this inspection we found the service remained Good.

Why the service is rated good.

There was a registered manager in place. 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 provider did not have a risk assessment in relation to Legionella. However, we found the provider had completed routine sampling to help control the risks of legionella. Legionella is a type of bacteria that can develop in water systems and cause Legionnaire's disease that can be dangerous, particularly to more vulnerable people such as older adults. The registered manager showed us an email confirming that an external provider would complete this risk assessment in February 2019.

There were procedures in place to protect people from abuse and unsafe care. We saw risk assessments had been developed to help identify ways to minimise the potential risk of harm to people. These had been kept under review and were personalised to meet people's needs.

Staff were kind and caring and treated people with respect. We observed many positive and caring interactions throughout the inspection. Staff knew people's likes and dislikes, which helped them provide individualised care for people.

There were sufficient staff on duty to support people safely. Staff had been recruited safely, appropriately trained and supported.

Staff received induction and on-going training to enable them to meet the needs of people they supported effectively. Staff were supported by way of regular supervision, appraisal and access to management.

People's rights were protected. The registered manager was knowledgeable about their responsibilities under the Mental Capacity Act 2005. People were only deprived of their liberty if this had been authorised by the appropriate body or where applications had been made to do so.

Medicines were managed safely. People received their medicines when needed, and appropriate records had been completed. We saw people had access to healthcare professionals. People told us staff cared for them in the way they wanted and staff met their care needs promptly. Staff referred people to healthcare professionals in a timely way.

The service remained well-led and robust and effective quality assurance systems and processes were in place to assess, monitor and drive improvements in the quality of care people received. People, staff and relatives remained engaged and involved in the service provided. The culture of the service continued to be positive and respected people's equality, diversity and human rights.