1 July 2021
During an inspection looking at part of the service
Burlington Nursing Home is a nursing home providing personal and nursing care to people aged 65 and over. The service supports people who may be living with dementia or need support with their physical health. The service can support up to 40 people and 32 were living there at the time of inspection.
People’s experience of using this service and what we found
Staff were not always recruited in a safe way and assurances of their character was not always sought before they started employment. This was discussed with the registered manager who took immediate steps to address the concern.
Systems were in place to monitor quality of the service and drive improvement when needed. These were not robust enough in terms of recruitment, to monitor and ensure appropriate checks were complete.
The registered manager had oversight of matters within the service and took action to address concerns should they arise. We saw evidence of staff working in partnership with external agencies to ensure people’s needs were met.
People told us they felt safe at Burlington Nursing Home. We found effective systems in place to safeguard people from the risks associated with abuse. Risk had been assessed and was managed appropriately. People’s medicines were managed safely. Staff were suitably trained to meet people’s needs.
People and their relatives spoke positively about care staff within the home. They were supported to give feedback on the care at the service. One relative said, “I can always speak to the manager or deputy if I need to. It’s the right place for my [relative], he is well looked after.”
For more details, please see the full report which is on the CQC website at www.cqc.org.uk
Rating at last inspection
The last rating for this service was Good (published 15 October 2019).
Why we inspected
This inspection was prompted by concerns received in relation to the standard of care people received. As a result, we undertook a focused inspection to review the key questions of safe and well-led only.
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.
We reviewed the information we held about the service. No areas of concern were identified in the other key questions. We therefore did not inspect them. Ratings from previous comprehensive inspections for those key questions were used in calculating the overall rating at this inspection.
The overall rating for the service has changed from good to requires improvement. This is based on the findings at this inspection. Whilst we did not find any evidence to confirm the concerns we received, we did find evidence that the provider needed to make improvement to their recruitment process. Please see the ‘safe’ section of this full report. You can see what action we have asked the provider to take at the end of this full report. You can read the report from our last comprehensive inspection, by selecting the ‘all reports’ link for Burlington Nursing Home on our website at www.cqc.org.uk.
Enforcement
We are mindful of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on our regulatory function. This meant we took account of the exceptional circumstances arising as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic when considering what enforcement action was necessary and proportionate to keep people safe as a result of this inspection.
We have identified a breach in relation to the recruitment of staff, this is a breach of regulation 19(1) (Fit and proper persons employed) of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014 and in relation to good governance, regulation 17 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014.. Please see the action we have told the provider to take at the end of this report.
Follow up
We will request an action plan for the provider to understand what they will do to improve the standards of quality and safety. We will work alongside the provider and local authority to monitor progress. We will return to visit as per our re-inspection programme. If we receive any concerning information we may inspect sooner.