Bridgewood House

Updated 14 April 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.

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 carried out by four inspectors, a specialist nurse advisor, a pharmacist inspector and two Experts 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. Two Experts by Experience supported this inspection by carrying out telephone calls to people's relatives following the on-site visit.

Service and service type

Bridgewood House 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 had a manager registered with the Care Quality Commission. 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.

Notice of inspection

This inspection was announced. We gave a short period notice of the inspection as we were mindful of the impact and added pressures of Covid-19 pandemic on the service. This meant we took account of the exceptional circumstances and requirements arising as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.

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 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. We used all of this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection

We spoke with the registered manager, the deputy manager, two nurses, two team leaders, the activities coordinator and four care staff. We also spoke with five people living at the home. We reviewed the care plans and risk assessments of 15 people who use the service, seven people’s medicines records and medicines management and other paperwork related to the governance of the service including, audits and health and safety.

After the inspection

We continued to seek clarification from the provider to validate evidence found. We were sent further information to support the inspection. This included eight staff recruitment files, one person’s care plan and risk assessment, training records, further audits and other information relating to the running of the home. We spoke with eight people who used the service and nine care staff by telephone. During the feedback session we also spoke with the nominated individual. The nominated individual is responsible for supervising the management of the service on behalf of the provider.

Updated 14 April 2021

About the service

Bridgewood House is a residential care home providing personal and nursing care to people aged 65 and over, some of whom may be living with dementia. The home is registered to provide care to 70 people. At the time of the inspection there were 59 people using the service.

The home is a modern purpose-built building covering three floors. There are six units, two on each floor, named after local parks and the home refers to each unit as a 'park'. One park provided nursing care and the other five parks provided personal care with no nursing. We have referred to the units as 'parks' throughout this report.

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

We found there had been significant improvements in the governance and quality of care following the last inspection. The service was more homely and welcoming. We saw warm and friendly interactions between staff and people. People we spoke with were positive about the care and support they received at Bridgewood House. People told us staff were caring and always on-hand to help them. Relatives told us they felt there had been improvements and they were happy with the care their family members received. One relative said staff were, “Worth their weight in gold.”

People’s risks were clearly documented and managed and staff had appropriate guidance to keep people safe. Staff had received safeguarding training and were aware of their responsibilities around recognising and reporting concerns of abuse. People received their medicines safely and on time. Staff were recruited safely, and all relevant background checks were completed. There was a more regular staff team in place since the last inspection. Whilst the home continued to use agency staff, these were regular, so people received a continuity of care. There were robust procedures in place to manage the COVID-19 pandemic. The standard of infection control was regularly monitored, and staff had access to appropriate Personal Protective Equipment (PPE).

Staff were supported by regular supervision, annual appraisal and training. People were supported to maintain a healthy balanced diet and any specialist diets were catered for. 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.

People and relatives felt staff were kind and caring and promoted people’s independence where possible. People told us they felt staff treated them with dignity and respect.

People had person centred care plans that documented their support needs, likes and dislikes. There was a full timetable of activities on offer within the home which had been created in collaboration with people. Any complaints were clearly documented and responded to appropriately. There were person centred plans in place around people’s end of life wishes which people, where they were able, and relatives had full input into.

Since the last inspection there had been a change in the senior management team and there was a new registered manager in post. The new registered manager had implemented a lot of changes around record keeping such as care plans and auditing systems. Overall governance of the home had greatly improved. People felt the registered manager was approachable. There were numerous regular audits that maintained and monitored care provided. People were fully involved through residents’ meetings and one-to-one meetings to give their feedback on their care.

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 the service under the previous provider was requires improvement (published 18 November 2019).

At our last inspection we identified breaches of regulations 12 and 16 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014. These related to a failure to adequately assess and mitigate people’s known risks, the safe management of medicines and acting on complaints. 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 improvements had been made and the provider was no longer in breach of regulations.

At our last inspection we also identified a continuing breach of regulation 17 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014 around good governance. Due to the significant concerns, we issued a warning notice against the provider and registered manager that was in post at the time of the inspection. A warning notice is enforcement that identifies the significant concerns found and gives the provider a specific time frame in which to address them. At this inspection we found vast improvements had been made and the provider was no longer in breach of regulations.

Why we inspected

This was a planned inspection based on the previous rating. 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.

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

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.