Geraint House Residential Care Home

Updated 15 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 was completed by 2 inspectors.

Service and service type

Geraint House is a 'care home' for people with mental health support needs. People in care homes receive accommodation and/or personal care as a single package under one contractual agreement dependent on their registration with us. Geraint House 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. The provider did not complete the required Provider Information Return (PIR). This is information providers are required to send us annually with key information about the service, what it does well and improvements they plan to make.

During the inspection

We visited the service on 05 January 2023.

We spoke with 5 people using the service, 1 relative and 6 staff members including the registered manager and the care manager.

We reviewed a selection of records including 5 people's care files and multiple medication records. We looked at 3 staff files in relation to recruitment and training. A variety of records relating to the management of the service, including policies and procedures were examined.

Updated 15 August 2023

About the service

Geraint House is a residential care service providing personal care and accommodation for up to 11 people with mental health needs. At the time of our inspection there were 9 people using the service. Each person has a private bedroom with shared washroom and kitchen facilities separated across 3 floors. The care home has a dining room, 2 lounges and a garden to the rear of the property.

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

People were not always kept safe from the risks associated with fire and we were not assured the provider was promoting safety through the layout and hygiene practices of the premises.

Maintenance repairs were not completed to a good standard and the service required renovation and modernisation. The provider did not always ensure people with diabetes were encouraged to maintain a healthy diabetic diet.

Quality assurance processes were not always effective and there was a lack of provider oversight. The provider was not proactive at identifying environmental improvements and maintenance oversight was poor.

People were supported to take their prescribed medicines safely. One person said, “Staff help me with my medicines, I do like that they help me with this.” People were protected by an effective safeguarding system and staff received safeguarding training. People and their relatives told us they felt safe at the service and felt comfortable raising concerns with staff.

People were supported by enough staff and the provider completed recruitment checks to ensure staff were suitable for their role.

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 completed a workplace induction and were provided training relevant to their role and the needs of the people at the service.

People's needs had been assessed prior to joining the service and care plans were in place. Information on people’s dietary needs was obtained from medical professionals and staff knew what people liked to eat and how they liked their food to be prepared.

The atmosphere at the service felt relaxed and friendly during our inspection. People living at the service and staff had opportunity to contribute to the running of the service during monthly meetings.

The service engaged regularly with health and social care professionals to ensure the needs of the people using the service were met.

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 inadequate (published 21 September 2022) and there were breaches of regulation. 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.

This service has been in Special Measures since 21 September 2022. During this inspection the provider demonstrated that improvements had been made. The service is no longer rated as inadequate overall or in any of the key questions. Therefore, this service is no longer in Special Measures.

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 13 January 2022. 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 need for consent, safe care and treatment, safeguarding, premises and equipment, good governance and staffing.

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 Safe, Effective 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 Inadequate to 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 Geraint House Residential Home on our website at www.cqc.org.uk.

Enforcement and Recommendations

We have identified breaches in relation to people’s safe care and treatment, premises and equipment and governance arrangements. Please see the action we have told the provider to take at the end of this report.

Follow up

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 alongside the provider and local authority to monitor progress. We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service, which will help inform when we next inspect.