Weatherstones House Nursing Home

Updated 13 January 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 Care Act 2014.

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

Weatherstones House Nursing Home is a 'care home’. People in care homes receive accommodation and nursing or personal care as a single package under one contractual agreement. CQC regulates both the premises and the care provided, and both were looked at during this inspection.

The service did not have a manager registered with the Care Quality Commission . This means that the provider was legally responsible for how the service is run and for the quality and safety of the care provided.

Notice of inspection

We gave the service one hours’ notice of the first day of the inspection. This was because we needed to be sure that the provider or manager would be in the office to support the inspection.

What we did before the inspection

We reviewed information we had received about the service since the last inspection. The provider was not asked to complete a provider information return prior to this inspection. This is information we require providers to send us to give some key information about the service, what the service does well and improvements they plan to make. We took this into account when we inspected the service and made the judgements in this report. We also received feedback from the local authority and the Clinical Commissioning Group commissioners.

During the inspection

We spoke with three people who used the service about their experience of the care provided and four people’s relatives. We spoke with six members of staff including the provider, manager, a nurse, two care workers, the deputy manager. We also sought feedback from the local authority and the local clinical commissioning group (CCG).

We reviewed a range of records. This included three people’s care records and multiple medication records. We looked at two staff files in relation to recruitment. A variety of records relating to the management of the service, including policies and procedures, were reviewed.

After the inspection

We requested records and documentation to be sent to us and reviewed these following the inspection visit. We continued to seek clarification from the provider to validate evidence found.

Updated 13 January 2022

Weatherstones House Nursing Home is a residential care home providing personal and nursing care to 14 people aged 65 and over at the time of the inspection. The service can support up to 31 people in one adapted building.

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

There were sufficient care staff on duty to meet people’s needs. However, improvements were needed to make sure staff files contained all the required information before staff started work.

Domestic staff vacancies meant there was not always enough staff available to undertake deep cleaning. The provider was trying to recruit to the posts and had rearranged tasks so that more cleaning could be undertaken at night.

Improvements had been made to the governance and oversight of the service, however, these needed to be further developed and become embedded into day to day practice.

We made a recommendation about the governance of the service.

Improvements had been made to the arrangements for the management of risk of COVIDovid-19 and record keeping. Risk assessments had been completed and care plans had been brought up to date. Medication was safely managed, and systems were in place to identify and report events that could place people at risk of harm.

People and their relatives spoke highly of the caring nature of the staff and had confidence in the managers' ability to lead the staff team and manage the service.

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 9 July 2021 and there were multiple breaches of regulation. The provider 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 and the provider was no longer in breach of regulations.

This service has been in Special Measures since 8 July 2021 . 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 was a planned inspection based on the previous rating.

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. 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 Weatherstones House Nursing Home on our website at www.cqc.org.uk.

We will return to visit as per our re-inspection programme. If we receive any concerning information we may inspect sooner.