Cooper House Care Home

Updated 30 March 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 Health and Social Care Act 2008.

As part of this inspection we looked at the infection control and prevention measures in place. This included checking the provider was meeting COVID-19 vaccination requirements. 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 three inspectors and a medicines inspector.

Service and service type

Cooper House is a ‘care home’. People in care homes receive accommodation and nursing and/or personal care as a single package under one contractual agreement dependent on their registration with us. Cooper House is a care home with nursing care. CQC regulates both the premises and the care provided, and both were looked at during this inspection.

The registered manager left the service in July 2021. The current manager has applied for registration with the Care Quality Commission. The registered manager 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 announced. We announced the inspection from the car park shortly before entering the service on 15 February 2022. This was because we needed to check the arrangements in place for preventing and containing transmission of COVID-19 prior to entering the building. Inspection activity started on 15 February 2022 and ended on 28 February 2022. We visited the service on 15 and 22 February 2022. The other dates were spent reviewing information off site.

What we did before the inspection

We reviewed information we had received about the service since the last inspection. We sought feedback from the clinical commissioning group (CCG) and local authority commissioners and safeguarding team and Healthwatch. Healthwatch is an independent consumer champion that gathers and represents the views of the public about health and social care services in England.

We used the information the provider sent us in the provider information return (PIR). This is information providers are required to send us annually with key information about their service, what they do well, and improvements they plan to make. We used all this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection

While on site we spent time with people in the communal areas observing the care and support provided by staff. We spoke with five people and four relatives about their experience of the care provided. We spoke with 11 members of staff including the manager, deputy manager, nursing, housekeeping, activity and care staff. We reviewed a range of records. This included 10 people's care records and 12 people's medicine records. We looked at two staff recruitment files. A variety of records relating to the management of the service, including policies and procedures were reviewed.

After the inspection

We requested further information from the provider relating to the building and fire safety arrangements.

Updated 30 March 2022

About the service

Cooper House is a residential care home providing personal and nursing care for up to 80 people. The service provides support to older people some of whom are living with dementia. The home is purpose built with accommodation provided in separate units over three floors, each with their own facilities. At the time of our inspection there were 42 people using the service.

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

Medicines were not always managed safely which placed people at risk of harm. The provider was working with external specialists to monitor subsidence issues with the building. However, we were not assured the risks had been fully mitigated.

We found improvements had been made since the last inspection which had resulted in better outcomes for people using the service. People received person-centred care. Staff knew people well and understood how to support people who were distressed or anxious. Staff were kind, caring and compassionate. They treated people with respect and maintained their dignity.

Staff understood how to manage any risks to people and knew the processes to follow to manage any allegations of abuse. Care records provided detailed information about people’s needs and preferences.

There were enough staff to meet people’s needs. Recruitment processes ensured staff were suitable to work in the care service. Staff were trained and had received recent supervision. Communication systems had improved; a range of daily meetings ensured managers and staff were kept updated about any changes.

Leadership and management had improved. The manager had good oversight and knowledge of the service and monitored and supported the staff team making sure the quality of care was maintained. Quality assurance systems were effective in identifying and addressing issues, although medicine audits needed to improve. Accident and incidents were analysed and lessons learned were shared with staff. The provider had an ongoing improvement plan to ensure improvements were sustained.

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 28 July 2021) and there were 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 in relation to these breaches.

This service has been in Special Measures since 28 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

We carried out an announced comprehensive inspection of this service on 27 May to 11 June 2021. Breaches of legal requirements were found. We served warning notices in relation to Regulations 12 and 17 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014 and requirement notices in relation to Regulations 10, 13 and 18.The provider completed an action plan after the last inspection to show what they would do and by when to improve.

We undertook this focused inspection to check they 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, Caring and Well-led which contain those requirements.

For those key questions not inspected, we used the ratings awarded at the last inspection to calculate the overall rating. The overall rating for the service has changed from inadequate to requires improvement. 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. This included checking the provider was meeting COVID-19 vaccination requirements.

You can read the report from our last comprehensive inspection, by selecting the ‘all reports’ link for Cooper House Care Home on our website at www.cqc.org.uk

Enforcement

We are mindful of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on our regulatory function. This meant we took account of the exceptional circumstances arising as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic when considering what enforcement action was necessary and proportionate to keep people safe as a result of this inspection. We will continue to monitor the service and will take further action if needed.

We have identified two breaches in relation to medicines and the premises at this inspection. Please see the action we have told the provider to take at the end of this report.

Follow up

We will request an action plan from the provider to understand what they will do to improve the standards of quality and safety. We will work alongside the provider and local authority to monitor progress. We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service, which will help inform when we next inspect.