Melbourn Springs Care Home

Updated 5 November 2021

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 Care Act 2014.

Inspection team

This inspection was carried out by two inspectors.

Service and service type

Melbourn Springs Care Home is a ‘care home’. People in care homes receive accommodation and nursing or personal care as a single package under one contractual agreement. CQC regulates both the premises and the care provided, and both were looked at during this inspection.

The service did not currently have a manager registered with the Care Quality Commission. This means that the provider is legally responsible for how the service is run and for the quality and safety of the care provided. The nominated individual is responsible for supervising the management of the service on behalf of the provider.

Notice of inspection

This inspection was unannounced.

What we did before inspection

We reviewed information we had received about the service and sought feedback from the local authority. The provider was not asked to complete a provider information return prior to this inspection. This is information we require providers to send us to give some key information about the service, what the service does well and improvements they plan to make. We took this into account when we inspected the service and made the judgements in this report.

During the inspection-

We spoke with three people who used the service and one relative about their experience of the care provided. We spoke with five members of staff including the manager, deputy manager, senior care worker and care workers. We used the Short Observational Framework for Inspection (SOFI). SOFI is a way of observing care to help us understand the experience of people who could not talk with us.

We reviewed a range of records. This included two people’s care records and multiple medication records. We looked at two staff files in relation to recruitment and staff supervision. A variety of records relating to the management of the service, including policies and procedures were reviewed.

Updated 5 November 2021

About the service

Melbourn Springs Care Home provides accommodation and personal care for up to 78 older people, some of whom are living with dementia. The service is over two floors and has various facilities available including a hair and nail bar, cinema room and café. At the time of the inspection, 22 people were living at the service.

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

The provider had systems in place to manage risks and keep people safe from avoidable harm. Staff followed good practice guidance to prevent the spread of infection and gave people their medicines safely.

People liked the staff that cared for them. Staff were kind and caring and made sure people’s privacy and dignity was respected. People, and their relatives were involved in making decisions on the care they wanted. Their preference for how staff delivered their care was recorded in their care plans.

Staff received training, supervision and support so that they could do their job well. Staff enjoyed working at Melbourn Springs Care Home and told us that they would be happy to have a member of their family living there.

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.

Systems to monitor how well the service was running were in place. Complaints and concerns were followed up to make sure action was taken to rectify the issue. People were asked their views of the service and action was taken to change any areas they were not happy with.

The service was well managed by an interim manager and senior staff team They were passionate about giving people a high-quality service and ensuring that staff were supported and skilled to deliver the service effectively.

For more details, please see the full report which is on the CQC website at www.cqc.org.uk.

Rating at last inspection

This service was registered with us on 17 April 2020 and this is the first inspection.

Why we inspected

This is the first inspection since the provider registered with the CQC on 17 April 2020.

Follow up

We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service until we return to visit as per our re-inspection programme. If we receive any concerning information we may inspect sooner.