Charnwood House Nursing Home

Updated 25 August 2023

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.

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

Two Inspectors and an Expert by Experience carried out the inspection. 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

Charnwood House Nursing Home is a ‘care home’. People in care homes receive accommodation and nursing and/or personal care as a single package under 1 contractual agreement dependent on their registration with us. Charnwood House Nursing Home is a care home providing 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 considered the feedback from the local authority and professionals who work with the service. We used the information the provider sent us in February 2023 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

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 spoke with 8 people who lived at Charnwood House Nursing Home. We spoke with 6 people’s relatives and a professional about their experience of the care and support provided by the service.

We spoke with 10 staff including the registered manager, clinical lead, 1 nurse, chef, 5 care staff and the nominated individual for the provider. The nominated individual is responsible for supervising the management of the service on behalf of the provider.

We reviewed a range of records. This included 6 people's care records. A variety of records relating to the management of the service, including policies and procedures were reviewed.

Updated 25 August 2023

About the service

Charnwood House Nursing Home is a residential care home providing personal and nursing care to up to 35 people. The service provides support to older people, people with a learning disability, mental health, physical disability and people living with dementia. At the time of our inspection there were 21 people using the service.

Charnwood House Nursing Home accommodates people in 1 adapted building. There are communal areas available for people to access on the ground floor.

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

Nursing and care staff understood people's needs and preferences. However, people's care records were not always reflective of people's needs and did not always contain a clear record of the support people received.

Since our last inspection, the provider and registered manager had implemented a number of audits and systems to monitor, assess and improve the quality of care people received. However, these systems were not always effective in identifying shortfalls or in documenting actions required to improve the service.

People and their relatives spoke positively about Charnwood House and told us about the improvements they had noticed at Charnwood House in relation to the environment and people's care.

People's risks were known by staff and clear processes were in place to protect people from the risk of avoidable harm. The service had taken action following concerns identified at our last inspection in January 2023.

People and relatives spoke positively about care staff and felt there was a clear caring culture within the home. People had access to a range of activities which were tailored to their needs and interests. The registered manager and provider had plans to continue to improve and develop activities, including for people who were cared for in bed.

Relatives and staff spoke positively about the leadership of the home and felt the service was moving in the right direction. Staff had received additional training and support from the management and external professionals since our last inspection.

The registered manager and provider had worked with local authority commissioners and external professionals to improve the service people received. Professionals spoke positively about the service people living at Charnwood House Nursing Home received.

The provider carried out their own audits of the service and had recruited a quality assurance lead to assist the home. They were carrying out a range of audits to support the registered manager, this included audits in relation to improving the quality and accuracy of people's care plans.

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 this service was Inadequate (published 18 March 2023) and there were 6 breaches of the regulations. The provider and registered manager 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, however the provider was still in breach of 1 regulation.

This service has been in Special Measures since 18 March 2023. During this inspection the provider demonstrated that improvements have been made. The service is no longer rated as inadequate overall or in any of the key questions. Therefore, this service is no longer in Special Measures.

Why we inspected

This inspection was carried out to follow up on action we told the provider to take at 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.

The overall rating for the service has changed from Inadequate to Requires Improvement based on the findings of this inspection.

We have identified a breach in relation to good governance at this inspection.

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 from the provider to understand what they will do to improve the standards of quality and safety. We will work with the 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.