Polventon Residential Care Home

Updated 9 March 2023

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 was carried out by one inspector

Service and service type

Polventon residential 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. The Care Quality Commission (CQC) regulates both the premises and the care provided, and we looked at both during this inspection.

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 the inspection

The provider was not asked to complete a Provider Information Return (PIR) prior to this inspection. A PIR is information providers send us to give some key information about the service, what the service does well and improvements they plan to make.

The provider had completed an action plan following the last inspection and this was reviewed.

We used all of this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection

We spoke with 7 people who used the service about their experience of the care provided. We spoke with 7 members of staff including the registered manager, deputy manager, nominated individual, administrator and care workers.

We reviewed a range of records. This included a person’s care records and various medication records. We looked at 2 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.

We spoke with 2 relatives and received feedback from 2 health and social care professionals.

Updated 9 March 2023

About the service

Polventon Residential Care Home is a residential care home providing personal care and accommodation for up to 19 people who are predominantly elderly. The service is a detached property that has accommodation over two floors. A lift enables people to access all parts of the service. Some bedrooms have ensuite facilities and people shared communal lounges and have access to large gardens. Polventon Residential Care Home is situated in the village of St Keverne which is in south west Cornwall.

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

Since the last inspection the management team had reviewed their safeguarding procedures. The provider had effective systems in place to protect people from abuse and staff had a good understanding of what to do to make sure people were protected from harm. People told us they felt safe and relatives echoed this view.

The registered manager was now notifying us of events that they are legally required to inform us of, promptly.

Since the last inspection the management team structure had changed. They had implemented new systems to assess and monitor the quality and safety of the care provided. They were effective in assessing quality and identifying and driving improvement. The service had clear and effective governance systems in place.

Since the last inspection the management team had reviewed their risk assessment process and implemented new documentation. The documentation clearly evidenced how risks were assessed, and what action was needed to mitigate and minimise risks.

People and relatives were positive about the care and support that they received. Comments from people included; "I am really happy here”, “It’s like a hotel if you want a cup of tea at 3am you get it”, “It’s like a family here” and “The staff are all lovely, [staff members name] is always smiling and brings a smile to my face.” Relatives comments included “It really is a home from home", I can't think of anything they could do better" and “We have no concerns about the home or the care".

People, and their relatives were involved in the development and review of their care plans which detailed their needs and preferences. Staff knew people's care needs well.

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.

Peoples medicines were managed safely. Staff responsible had the necessary skills to administer medicines. Oversight was in place to ensure medicines were managed safely.

There were enough staff to meet people's needs and ensure their safety. People told us; "If you call the buzzer (call bell) the staff come quickly” and “Staff looked after me really well when I was ill.”

Appropriate recruitment procedures ensured prospective staff were suitable to work in the home.

The service was clean and there were additional cleaning procedures in place to limit infection control risks within the service.

Staff felt supported by the management team. They told us; “We get good support from each other and the managers are approachable”

The management and staff team engaged well with health and social care professionals. Comments included “I consider the home to be a safe and caring service, in fact I am proud to work alongside them, their ethics and values are exemplary” and “I have a really positive view of the home, They are warm and welcoming, its residence are supported to live in a way that they would wish to live. The home feels as if it belongs to the residents, it is not clinical and they always meet the needs of the residents in a safe and effective way”.

The environment was spacious and there was equipment available to support staff in providing safe care and support. Health and safety checks of the environment and equipment were in place.

For more information, please read the detailed findings section of this report. If you are reading this as a separate summary, the full report can be found on the Care Quality Commission (CQC) website at www.cqc.org.uk

Rating at last inspection and update

At our last inspection we found breaches of the regulations in relation to reporting safeguarding, managing risk, notifications required by law by the Care Quality Commission, and management oversight of the service. The provider completed an action plan after the last inspection to tell us what they would do and by when to improve.

At this inspection we found improvements had been made and the provider was now meeting these regulations.

Why we inspected

We carried out an unannounced comprehensive inspection of this service on 16 and 21 December 2020. Breaches of legal requirements were found in relation to safeguarding, safe care and treatment, notifications required by law by the Care Quality Commission, and good governance.

We undertook this focused inspection to check if the provider had made improvements and if they were now meeting the legal requirements. This report only covers our findings in relation to the key questions Safe and well-led.

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 Polventon Residential Care Home on our website at www.cqc.org.uk.

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.

Follow up

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