This inspection was carried out on 9 July 2015. Waverley Grange Nursing and Residential Home provides residential, nursing and respite care for older people who are physically frail. It is registered to accommodate up to 52 people. The home provides 22 beds for people who require residential care and 26 beds for people who require nursing care. The accommodation is arranged in four units across the two floors of the home. There is a residential unit on the ground floor and a and a nursing unit on the first floor. The service also provides end of life care to people with the support of the local palliative care service. On the day of our visit 48 people lived at the service.
On the day of our visit there was a registered manager. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission to manage the service. Like registered providers, they are ‘registered persons’. Registered persons have legal responsibility for meeting the requirements in the Health and Social Care Act 2008 and associated Regulations about how the service is run.
Although there were enough staff at the service they were not always deployed effectively. This meant that people did not always get the care in a timely way.
Staff had knowledge of safeguarding procedures and what to do if they suspected abuse. The service had policies in relation to safeguarding.
Medicines were stored appropriately and audits of all medicines took place. People told us that their medicines were reviewed regularly.
Risk assessments were in place for people to reduce the risk of any harm coming to them. This included the risk of pressure sores and the risk of someone falling. The environment was set up to keep people safe. The building was secured with key codes to internal doors and external doors.
Staff recruitment files contained a check list of documents that had been obtained before each person started work that helped to ensure that only suitable people worked at the service.
Nurses clinical training was not always up to date and staff clinical knowledge was not always as detailed as it should have been. All other service required training was up to date for staff including moving and handling and infection control.
CQC is required by law to monitor the operation of Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS). This aims to make sure that people are looked after in a way that does not inappropriately restrict their freedom. We saw that where people’s liberty may have been restricted not all applications had been submitted to the local authority. Staff did not always have a good understanding of the Mental Capacity Act 2005 (MCA) and DoLs.
We saw that staff ensure that they gained consent from people before they provided care.
People’s nutritional and hydration needs were being met. People said that they liked the food. We saw that there was plenty of food and drink available for people.
People had access to a range of health care professionals, such as the GP, opticians, community dentist, physiotherapist and the palliative care team from the local hospice.
In the event of an emergency , such as the building being flooded or a fire, there was a service contingency plan which detailed what staff needed to do to protect people and made them safe.
People and relatives felt that staff were kind and caring and that they provided them with dignity and respect. Comments included, “All the nursing assistants are extremely good” and, “The staff are considerate, they knock on my door before coming in and respect my dignity”
A record of how complaints had been resolved was always recorded. There was a complaints procedure in place for people to access. One relative said, “I would go to the manager with complaints. In the past when I’ve raised things I’m satisfied with the way it has been dealt with.”
Appropriate information was not always provided to staff to ensure that people’s care was being given based on their needs. Staff did not always understand what care needed to be given. Care plans did not always have the most up to date information about people.
People were happy with the activities that were on offer. One person said, “I love it, I don’t get bored, we have quizzes, flower making, we have a cinema here, we do day trips, there are entertainers and we have school children coming in to the see us.” We saw a variety of activites on offer both inside and outside of the service.
People, relatives and staff told us that they were well supported by the registered manager. All the staff said they would be confident to speak to the registered manager if they had any concerns.
The quality of the service was reviewed in a variety of different ways. Surveys were completed with people and staff and improvements were made to the service as a result.
During the inspection we found breaches of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014. You can see what action we told the provider to take at the back of the full version of the report.