Eldon House Care Services

Updated 23 June 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.

Inspection team

This inspection was carried out by one inspector and an 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

Eldon House Care Services is a ‘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. Eldon House Care Services 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 reviewed information we had received about the service since the last inspection. We sought feedback from the local authority and professionals who work with the service. 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 observed people’s care to help us understand the experience of people who could not talk with us. We spoke with 9 people about their experience of care and 2 relatives. We also spoke with 5 staff which included the registered manager, deputy manager and care staff. We reviewed a range of records. This included 5 people's care records and multiple medication records. We looked at 3 staff files in relation to recruitment. A variety of records relating to the management of the service, including medicine audits, care plan audits and the training matrix were also reviewed.

Updated 23 June 2023

About the service

Eldon House is a residential home providing personal care for up to 34 people. The service provides support to older people, some of whom are living with dementia and people with physical and sensory disabilities. At the time of our inspection there were 31 people using the service.

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

The service provided safe care to people. Staff were trained to recognise abuse and would report any concerns. People and their relatives felt the care provided was safe. People's individual risks were identified, assessed, reviewed and plans were in place to minimise them. Medicines were managed safely, and people received the support they needed to take them as prescribed.

Staff understood how to minimise the risk of infection and there were measures in place to prevent cross infection. There were enough safely recruited staff to support people to meet their needs. Where incidents happened, these were reviewed, and learning applied to prevent recurrence.

People had their needs assessed and plans put in place to meet them. Where needed other professionals were involved in people’s care and support and people were supported to maintain their health. People’s dietary needs were met, and people had access to a choice of food and drinks. Staff received support and training in their role and worked as a team to support people.

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 and their relatives understood how to make a complaint and the registered manger encouraged an open and transparent culture which meant people were happy to raise any concerns. People’s needs and preferences were understood by staff and care plans reflected people’s individual needs. This included information about how people like to spend their time and their interests. People had been asked about their wishes for their care at the end of their life.

The registered manager had systems to enable staff to share their ideas for the service and staff felt supported in their roles. Where required the registered manager worked in partnership with others to provide people’s care and support. The registered manager used quality and safety checks which were in place to identify areas for improvements.

Rating at last inspection and update

The last rating for this service was requires improvement (28 May 2019). 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 improvements had been made and the provider was no longer in breach of regulations.

Why we inspected

This inspection was carried out to follow up on action we told the provider to take at the last inspection.

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 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 effective, responsive, and well-led which contain those requirements.

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. 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 Eldon House Care Services 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.