Blenheim House Care Home

Updated 30 September 2022

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 one inspector, one bank inspector and one 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

Blenheim House Care Home 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. Blenheim House Care Home is a care home with nursing care. CQC regulates both the premises and the care provided, and both were looked at during this inspection.

Registered Manager

This service is required to have a registered manager. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission to manage the service. 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. At the time of our inspection there was a registered manager in post.

Notice of inspection

This inspection was unannounced.

What we did before inspection

We reviewed information we had received about the service since the last 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 used all this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection

We spoke with 13 people and 10 relatives about their experiences. We reviewed various records in relation to the running of the service including three recruitment files, medicines records, care plans and provider checks and audits. We spoke with 11 staff including the registered manager, deputy manager, clinical lead and care staff.

Updated 30 September 2022

About the service

Blenheim House Care Home is a residential care home providing accommodation for people who require nursing or personal care to up to 85 people. The service provides support to people living with dementia, older people and younger adults. At the time of our inspection there were 83 people using the service.

Blenheim House Care Home provides accommodation over three floors, bedrooms can be found on each floor and provide en-suite facilities. There are various communal areas including dining rooms, lounges, cinema and a bar. There is level access to extensive well-kept gardens and parking to the front of the premises. The registered manager’s office is located adjacent to the reception area.

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

People were supported by staff who spoke confidently about how they would identify potential abuse and what they would do if abuse was suspected or witnessed. Risk assessments were in place and guidance was available for staff about how they should keep people safe from avoidable harm. Medicines were managed and administered by staff who were trained, and competency checked. The temperature of the medicines fridge was not always recorded in the correct format. Staff were recruited in line with requirements. The provider used a staffing dependency tool and was working to reduce the use of agency staff across the service. We received mixed comments about staffing levels from people, relatives and staff.

Staff spoke positively about the registered manager. The provider operated checks and audits to monitor the quality and safety of care provision in the service. Staff spoke about people in a person-centred way and the provider had identified what actions needed to be taken to ensure a more person-centred service was provided. Statutory notifications were submitted in line with requirements. Lessons were learned when things went wrong, and these were shared organisationally. Staff worked with healthcare professionals to meet people’s needs.

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 07 January 2020).

Why we inspected

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

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.

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 remained the same.

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

Recommendations

We made one recommendation in relation to recording temperatures for the medicines fridge.

Follow up

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