Millbrow Care Home

Updated 19 November 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.

We received information of concern about infection control and prevention measures at this service. This was a targeted inspection looking at the infection control and prevention measures the provider has in place.

This inspection took place on 04 November 2020 and was announced.

Updated 19 November 2020

About the service

Millbrow is a residential care home providing personal and nursing care for up to 44 older people. At the time of the inspection, the service was supporting 42 people across two floors. The upper floor was dedicated to accommodation and care for people living with dementia, while the ground floor provided nursing care.

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

Medicines were not always safely managed in accordance with best practice. Risk associated with the building were not always managed safely. Quality assurances processes were more robust and effective. However, they had not been effective in identifying concerns found during this inspection. The service remained in breach of regulations regarding Safe Care and Treatment and Good Governance.

Improvements had been made and sustained since the last inspection. Staff received regular supervision and support. The service was no longer in breach of regulation regarding Staffing.

Systems and processes were in place to safeguard people from the risk of abuse. Individual risks to people were assessed. It was unclear if there were always enough staff to meet people's assessed needs. Arrangements were in place for making sure that premises were kept clean and hygienic so that people were protected from the risk of infections.

People were given a good choice of nutritious food and drinks in accordance with their needs and preferences. Their healthcare needs were met through effective working with a range of healthcare professionals. The service operated in accordance with the principles of the Mental Capacity Act 2005 (MCA). 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.

Staff treated people with kindness, compassion and respect. People’s faith and cultural needs were recorded and understood by staff. People were encouraged to be as independent as possible. Staff understood the need to protect people’s privacy and dignity when providing care.

Care records were personalised for each individual. Care plans were reviewed regularly to ensure they remained accurate and reflected people’s needs. Staff adapted the way in which they communicated with people to engage them and to ensure important information was shared. People were supported to engage in a range of activities and to maintain important relationships. People’s end of life wishes were considered as part of the assessment and care planning process.

Notifications to the Care Quality Commission (CQC) had been submitted as required. The service had a positive learning culture where people were supported to reflect on performance and improve practice. The provider regularly engaged people using the service, their relatives and staff through, surveys, meetings and informal discussions. People said communication with the registered manager was good.

You can see what action we have asked the provider to take at the end of this full report.

The provider has acted to reduce the risk posed by the issues we identified during this inspection.

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 16 March 2019) and there were three breaches of regulation. The provider completed an action plan after the last inspection to show what they would do and by when to improve. The service remains rated requires improvement. This service has been rated requires improvement for the last two consecutive inspections.

Why we inspected

This was a planned inspection based on the previous rating.

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 work with the local authority to monitor progress. We will return to visit as per our re-inspection programme. If we receive any concerning information we may inspect sooner.