Background to this inspection
Updated
3 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.
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
This inspection was carried out by one inspector.
Service and service type
Swan Care Residential 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 and we sought feedback from the local authority. 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 used observations to gather evidence of people's experience of care and we spoke with three relatives about their experience of the care provided. We spoke with four members of staff including the registered manager, senior care workers and care workers. We reviewed a range of records. This included two people’s care and medicines records, two staff files and a variety of records relating to the management of the service.
Updated
3 July 2021
About the service
Swan Care Residential Home provides accommodation and personal care for up to 21 older people, some of whom may be living with dementia. At the time of the inspection eight people were living in the service.
People’s experience of using this service and what we found
People were protected from the risk of infection. The provider had made improvements to their infection prevention and control processes since the last inspection and robust systems were now in place to protect people and staff.
The provider had demonstrated how lessons had been learnt from their management of the COVID-19 outbreak in the service. Systems for monitoring the quality and safety of the service had been improved and the registered manager had clear oversight of the service. Contingency planning was in place in case of any future outbreaks or staff shortages.
Relatives told us people were safe and protected from the risk of harm. Risk assessments were in place and provided personalised information about the risks to people’s safety. Relatives and staff told us they felt comfortable raising concerns with the registered manager and were confident these would be responded to.
People received their medicines as prescribed and staff had received medicines training to ensure they were competent and able to support people safely. People were supported by a consistent staff team who knew them well. Staff told us they felt supported and were involved in the improvements which had been made in 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 4 February 2021) and there were three 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.
Why we inspected
We undertook this focused inspection to check the provider had followed their action plan and to confirm they now met legal requirements. This report only covers our findings in relation to the Key Questions Safe and Well-led which contain those requirements.
The ratings from the previous comprehensive inspection for those key questions not looked at on this occasion were used in calculating the overall rating at this inspection. The overall rating for the service has changed from Inadequate to 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 Swan Care Residential 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.