Dearnlea Park Residential Care Home

Updated 3 August 2023

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 team was made up of 2 inspectors and 1 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

Dearnlea Park Residential Care Home ‘care home’. People in care homes receive accommodation and nursing and/or personal care as a single package under one contractual agreement dependent on their registration with us. Dearnlea Park Residential Care Home is a care home without nursing care. 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 a registered manager in post.

Notice of inspection

This inspection was unannounced.

What we did before the inspection

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 reviewed information we had received about the service since the last inspection. We sought feedback from the local authority and Healthwatch, Barnsley. Healthwatch is an independent consumer champion that gathers and represents the views of the public about health and social care services in England.

We used all this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection

We spoke with 12 people living at Dearnlea Park Residential Care Home and 4 of their relatives about their experience of the care provided. We met with the registered manager and the provider. We spoke with 6 members of staff. We observed daily life in the service including part of the lunch time service. We looked around the building to check environmental safety and cleanliness.

We looked at written records, which included 6 people’s care records, 4 people’s medicine administration records and 4 staff files, including recruitment records. A variety of records relating to the management of the service were also reviewed.

After the inspection

We continued to seek clarification from the provider to validate evidence found. This included reviewing some of the provider’s policies and procedures.

Updated 3 August 2023

About the service

Dearnlea Park Residential Care Home is a residential care home providing accommodation and personal care for up to 67 people over two floors of a purpose-built building. The service provides support to older adults and younger people, some of whom are living with dementia or experiencing mental health issues. At the time of our inspection there were 41 people living at the service.

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

Medicines were not managed safely. We were not assured of staff competency in this area. There was not always guidance for staff on how to administer medicines safely. People’s care records did not accurately reflect their needs. Risks to people had not been fully assessed and there was limited guidance for staff on how best to manage these risks. There were no effective systems in place to monitor and improve the quality of the services provided. The provider had failed to keep oversight of the service.

Not all staff were provided with an induction and relevant training to make sure they had the right skills and knowledge for their role. There were systems in place to recognise and respond to any allegations of abuse. Safe recruitment procedures made sure staff were of suitable character and background. There were enough staff deployed to meet people’s care and support needs in a timely way.

We saw staff were kind and caring in their interactions with people. They clearly knew people well. 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.

People told us they enjoyed the food served at Dearnlea Park Residential Care Home. People were encouraged to maintain good health and have access to health and social care services. The registered manager had been in post since January 2023 and staff told us they were supportive.

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 (published 29 November 2021) and there were breaches of regulations. The provider completed an action plan after the last inspection to show what they would do and by when to improve.

At this inspection we found the provider remained in breach of regulations.

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 carried out an unannounced focused inspection of this service on 9 November 2021. Breaches of legal requirements were found. The provider completed an action plan after the last inspection to show what they would do and by when to improve medicines management, assessing risks, health and safety, and governance.

We undertook this focused inspection to check they had followed their action plan and to confirm they now met legal requirements. This report only covers our findings in relation to the Key Questions of Safe, Effective and Well-led which contain those requirements.

For those key questions not inspected, we used the ratings awarded at the last comprehensive inspection to calculate the overall rating. The overall rating for the service has remained as requires improvement. This is based on the findings at this inspection.

You can read the report from our last comprehensive inspection, by selecting the ‘all reports’ link for Dearnlea Park Residential Care Home on our website at www.cqc.org.uk.

Enforcement and Recommendations

We have identified continued breaches in relation to medicines management, assessing risks, and governance.

Please see the action we have told the provider to take at the end of this report.

Follow up

We will meet with the provider following this report being published to discuss how they will make changes to ensure they improve their rating to at least good.

We will request an action plan from the provider to understand what they will do to improve the standards of quality and safety. We will work with the local authority to monitor progress.

We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service, which will help inform when we next inspect.