8 September 2022
During a routine inspection
Torr Home provides nursing care and support for older people. The service is registered to accommodate up 60 older people and is separated into three units.
Torr house supports up to 24 people with nursing or residential care needs. The Belltor and Glentor units support up to 36 people living with dementia. Each unit has its own staff team, with one registered manager responsible for Torr house and another registered manager responsible for both the Glentor and Belltor units. At the time of our inspection there were 15 people living at Torr House, 12 people living in Belltor and 16 people living in Glentor.
People’s experience of using this service and what we found
People told us they felt safe and records showed staffing levels had improved since our last inspection. Necessary preemployment checks had been completed and rotas showed planned staffing levels had been consistently achieved.
The service continues to experience difficulties in recruiting additional nursing staff. As a result, a new lead care practitioner role had been introduced. These experienced members of care staff had received additional training to enable them to lead staff teams in each unit and manage people’s medicines with support and guidance available at all times, from a nurse based in another unit on site.
Medicines were managed safely, and cleaning products stored securely when not in use. Risks to people’s wellbeing had been identified and mitigated. Staff had a good understanding of infection prevention and control protocols and current COVID-19 guidance was being followed.
Staff had the skills necessary to meet people’s needs and new staff had received appropriate induction training.
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 were complimentary of the food and kitchen staff had a good understanding of people’s likes and needs. Staff were attempting to document the amount and food and fluids people consumed and we have made a recommendation in relation to this practice.
People and relatives were complimentary of the staff team who provided support when needed with compassion and kindness. People views were respected, and staff ensured people were protected from discrimination.
Staff were able to communicate effectively with people and care plans provided clear guidance for staff on how to meet people’s care needs. Activities were available in each unit, visitors were encouraged, and people were supported to maintain relationship that were important to them.
Significant management changes had been made following our last inspection. The provider’s Nominated Individual was now responsible for auditing, quality assurance and the services overall performance.
The registered manager for the dementia services was based in Glentor and staff in Belltor reported that they were isolated and lacked support from management. We have made a recommendation in relation to this issue.
The service worked collaboratively with involved professionals who reported significant improvements to the service’s performance since the last inspection.
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 was requires improvement. (Published 4 August 2021). At this inspection we found improvements had been made and the services’ overall rating is now good.
Why we inspected
We completed this comprehensive inspection to check that necessary improvements had been made in response to the issues identified at our last focused 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.
Recommendations
We have made recommendations in relation to procedures and systems for monitoring people’s food and fluid intake and in relation to the system in place to support staff based in the Belltor unit.
Follow up
We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service, which will help inform when we next inspect.