Background to this inspection
Updated
17 July 2021
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.
Inspection team
The inspection was carried out by two inspectors at the home and an Expert by Experience who made phone calls. 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
Briar Close House 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. CQC regulates both the premises and the care provided, and both were looked at during this inspection.
The service had a manager registered with the Care Quality Commission. 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.
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. 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 used all of this information to plan our inspection.
During the inspection
We spoke with seven people who lived at Briar Close House Care Home. We spoke with four members of staff. In addition to this, we spoke with the deputy manager and the registered manager. We made observations in communal areas to help us understand the experience of people who could not talk with us.
We reviewed a range of records. This included four people’s care files and multiple medication and daily care records. We looked at two staff files in relation to recruitment. A variety of records relating to the management of the service, including building safety records and fire safety records were also reviewed.
After the inspection
We continued to seek clarification from the provider to validate evidence found. We had a virtual meeting with the registered manager after our site visit to ask further questions and discuss our findings. We looked at some additional building safety records, meeting minutes and quality assurance records.
Our Expert by Experience also spoke with 12 relatives over the phone to gain their views as we were unable to speak with them during our site visit. We also contacted health professionals involved with the home and one replied to our questions.
Updated
17 July 2021
About the service
Briar Close House Care Home is a residential care home providing personal care for up to 40 people in total, across four wings. However, at the time of our inspection the home was undergoing refurbishment so one wing was not in use whilst building work was ongoing. There were 22 people using the service on the day of our inspection. People had a variety of support needs such as those living with dementia or other mental health conditions, those with a physical or sensory impairment, older people and those who may be living with a learning disability or autism.
People’s experience of using this service and what we found
People felt safe living in the home, they were protected from abuse and had their risks assessed, planned for and mitigated. There were enough safely recruited staff to meet people’s needs. Lessons were learned when things had gone wrong. Medicines were safely managed and stored. Infection control measures were in place to keep people protected.
Effective quality assurance systems were in place to monitor the quality and safety of care. There was an open and inclusive culture in the home. People, relatives and staff felt positive about the registered manager and the management of the home. People and staff were asked for their feedback. People were supported with their protected characteristics. The registered manager was aware of their duty of candour. Audits were in place to check people’s care and an action plan was in place to continue to improve the service. The home worked in partnership with other organisations.
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 17 July 2018).
Why we inspected
We received concerns in relation to how people were supported in relation to their risks and how staff worked together. As a result, we undertook a focused inspection to review the key questions of safe and well-led only. We found no evidence during this inspection that people were at risk of harm from this concern.
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 remained the same; good. This is based on the findings at this 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.
You can read the report from our last comprehensive inspection, by selecting the ‘all reports’ link for Briar Close House Care Home on our website at www.cqc.org.uk.
Follow up
We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service until we return to visit as per our re-inspection programme. If we receive any concerning information we may inspect sooner.