Clarendon House

Updated 3 July 2021

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 Care Act 2014.

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 undertaken by one inspector and an inspection manager.

Service and service type

Clarendon house 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.

The service had a manager in the process of registering with the Care Quality Commission. This means that they and the provider are legally responsible for how the service is run and for the quality and safety of the care provided.

Notice of inspection

This inspection was unannounced.

What we did before the inspection

We reviewed information we had received about the service since the last inspection. We sought feedback from local authorities who contract with the service. We used the information the provider sent us in the provider information return. This is information providers are required to send us with key information about their service, what they do well, and improvements they plan to make. This information helps support our inspections. We used all of this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection

To gain people’s views and experiences of the service, we spoke with three people who lived at the home and two relatives. We spoke with the manager and the provider. We spoke with five care staff and one visiting professional

We reviewed a range of records. This included three people’s care records and multiple medication records. We looked at three staff files in relation to recruitment and staff development. A variety of records relating to the management of the service, including policies and procedures were reviewed.

After the inspection

We continued to seek clarification from the provider to validate evidence found. We looked at training data and quality assurance records.

Updated 3 July 2021

About the service

Clarendon House is a residential home providing accommodation and personal care for 21 people aged 65 and over on the day of inspection including people living with dementia. The service can support up to 23 people.

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

People felt safe in the home. Staff understood how to keep people safe and protect people from avoidable harm. Risks associated with people’s care had been assessed and management plans were completed for identified risks. There were enough staff to keep people safe and to meet their needs. There were safe procedures to manage people’s medicines and to prevent the spread of infection.

The new home manager was passionate about providing good dementia care and was supported by the provider to implement new initiatives to promote people’s wellbeing. Changes to staff working practices and new procedures were being embedded. The provider and home manager understood their regulatory responsibilities and had effective processes for assessing and monitoring the quality of the service.

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

The last rating for this service was Good (published 28 November 2019).

Why we inspected

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.

We received concerns in relation to staffing levels, the management of medicines and the management oversight of the home. As a result, we undertook a focused inspection to review the key questions of safe and well-led only.

We reviewed the information we held about the service. No areas of concern were identified in the other key questions. We therefore did not inspect them. Ratings from previous comprehensive inspections for those key questions were used in calculating the overall rating at this inspection.

The overall rating for the service has remained Good. This is based on the findings at this inspection.

We found no evidence during this inspection that people were at risk of harm from this concern. 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 Clarendon House 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 priorities. If we receive any concerning information we may inspect sooner