We carried out a review of the data available to us about Albemarle Hall Nursing Home on 6 July 2023. We have not found evidence that we need to carry out an inspection or reassess our rating at this stage.
This could change at any time if we receive new information. We will continue to monitor data about this service.
If you have concerns about Albemarle Hall Nursing Home, you can give feedback on this service.
Albemarle Hall Nursing Home was providing personal and nursing care to 27 people at the time of the inspection. The service operates within an adapted building and can support up to 28 people.
People’s experience of using this service and what we found
Staff kept people safe from avoidable harm and risks associated with people’s care and support had been identified, assessed and managed. People were supported with their medicines safely and in line with the prescriber’s instructions. There were sufficient numbers of suitable staff to keep people safe and meet their care and support needs in a timely manner. Staff followed the providers infection control policy and the registered manager made sure lessons were learned when things went wrong.
People’s care and support needs had been assessed prior to the moving into the service and comprehensive plans of care had been developed. The staff team had the experience, skills and knowledge to meet people’s needs and they supported people to access relevant healthcare professionals and live healthier lives. People were supported to eat and drink enough to maintain a balanced diet and staff knew people’s preferences well.
People were provided with a comfortable place to live though some areas were rather stark and sterile looking. We received evidence following our visit to confirm this had been addressed. 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.
Staff treated people with kindness and their privacy and dignity were respected. People were involved in making decisions about their care and support, and their consent to care was always obtained. Concerns were taken seriously and handled in line with the providers complaints procedure. People’s wishes at the end of their life had been explored and followed.
Systems were in place to regularly monitor the service provided. Staff felt supported by the registered manager and their thoughts on the service were sought. People, their relatives and staff were involved in how the service was run through meetings, the use of surveys and day to day conversations with the registered manager and the staff team. The registered manager worked in partnership with others to make sure people received safe care and support.
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 21 June 2017).
Why we inspected
This was a planned inspection based on the previous rating.
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.
The home had a registered manager in place at the time of our inspection. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission to manage the service. Like registered providers, they are ‘registered persons.’ Registered persons have legal responsibility for meeting the requirements in the Health and Social Care Act 2008 and associated Regulations about how the service is run.
People were supported by staff who knew how to recognise abuse and how to respond to concerns. Risks in relation to people’s daily life were assessed and planned for to protect them from harm and staff followed instructions in people’s risk assessments.
People were supported by enough staff to ensure they received care and support when they needed it. Medicines were managed safely and people received their medicines as prescribed.
People were supported by staff who had the knowledge and skills to provide safe and appropriate care and support. People were supported to make decisions and staff knew how to act if people did not have the capacity to make decisions.
People were supported to maintain their nutrition and staff were monitoring and responding to people’s health conditions. We saw that involvement of external healthcare professionals was sought when needed.
People lived in a home where staff listened to them. People’s emotional needs were recognised and responded to by a staff team who cared about the individual they were supporting. People were supported to enjoy a social life.
People were involved in giving their views on how the home was run and there were systems in place to monitor and improve the quality of the service provided.
People were supported to maintain their nutrition and staff were monitoring and responding to people’s health conditions.
People lived in a home where staff listened to them. People’s emotional needs were recognised and responded to by a staff team who cared about the individual they were supporting. People were supported to enjoy a social life.
People were involved in giving their views on how the home was run and there were systems in place to monitor and improve the quality of the service provided.
We carried out an unannounced inspection of the service on 4 November 2015.
Albemarle Hall Nursing Home provides accommodation for older people. It is registered for a maximum of 27 people. There were 23 people receiving care and support at the home at the time of our visit.
There was a manager registered with the Care Quality Commission (CQC). They were not available at the time of the inspection. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission to manage the service. Like registered providers, they are ‘registered persons’. Registered persons have legal responsibility for meeting the requirements in the Health and Social Care Act 2008 and associated Regulations about how the service is run.
People felt safe in the home and staff knew how to identify potential signs of abuse. Systems were in place for staff to identify and manage risks and respond to accidents and incidents. Numbers of staff on duty were insufficient to keep people safe, but they were recruited through safe recruitment practices. Medicines were safely managed.
People we spoke with told us they were satisfied with the skills of the staff. Staff received appropriate induction, training, supervision and appraisal. People’s rights were protected under the Mental Capacity Act 2005. People received sufficient to eat and drink, but their meal time experience required improvement. External professionals were involved in people’s care as appropriate.
Staff were caring and treated people with dignity and respect. People and their relatives were involved in decisions about their care.
People’s needs were responded to. Most care records provided sufficient information for staff to provide personalised care and care plans were reviewed on an ongoing process. Activities were available in the home. A complaints process was in place and staff knew how to respond to complaints.
People and their relatives were involved or had opportunities to be involved in the development of the service. Staff told us they would be confident raising any concerns with the management, but had mixed feelings about whether they felt supported as the registered manager had been absent from the service for a lengthy period. By law the provider has to notify us and keep us updated of any changes to the service. We were aware the manager was absent long term. There were systems in place to monitor and improve the quality of the service provided.
We saw each of the rooms had two skylight window panels. We checked to ensure all the skylight windows opened. The provider told us the people who currently occupy the four rooms are not nursed in bed and were not permanently in their rooms.
The provider told us that people who were required to be permanently nursed in bed would not be accommodated in any of the four bedrooms.
Since we visited the service we have seen the provider has written action plans and risk assessments for the four rooms.