Dove House Care Home

Updated 1 December 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.

Inspection team

This inspection was carried out by 1 inspector and an 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

Dove House is a ‘care home’. People in care homes receive accommodation and personal care as a single package under one contractual agreement dependent on their registration with us. Dove 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. 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

During our inspection we spoke with 3 people and 11 relatives. We also spoke 6 staff including the registered manager, cook, maintenance, senior care and care staff. We looked at the care records for 5 people and 6 medicine administration records. We looked at records relating to the management of the service, including audits carried out within the home, recruitment files and training records.

Updated 1 December 2022

About the service

Dove House is a residential care home providing accommodation and personal care to up to 42 people in one adapted building. The service provides support to older and younger adults, some of whom are living with mental health conditions and dementia, people with physical disabilities and sensory impairments. At the time of our inspection there were 24 people using the service.

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

People were safeguarded from abuse by staff who understood how to report any concerns to the appropriate body. Staff understood how to manage risks to people’s safety and were able to support people to have their medicines as prescribed. There were enough safely recruited staff to ensure people were supported and staff understood how to prevent the spread of infection. When incidents occurred, these were reviewed, and analysis was done to look for any themes.

People had their needs assessed and plans put in place to meet these. There were clear plans to ensure people had a choice of food and drinks and their needs and preferences were met. The building had been adapted to ensure people had effective support. Where needed health professionals were involved in people’s care plans and staff followed any guidance.

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’s preferences were understood by staff and they had support to do things which were of interest to them. Communication needs were assessed, and staff understood how to communicate with people effectively. Where people were at the end of their life, they had plans in place to guide staff on how they wanted to be supported.

Where people made complaints, these were investigated and responded to. The registered manger had oversight systems in place to ensure the building was maintained and people received the care they needed. The provider worked in partnership with other agencies and applied a learning culture.

Rating at last inspection

The last rating for this service was requires improvement [published 2 June 2021].

Why we inspected

We inspected the service to follow up on concerns from the last inspection.

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.

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 requires improvement to good. 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 Dove House Care Home on our website at www.cqc.org.uk.

Follow up

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