3 August 2022
During an inspection looking at part of the service
Tallis House is a care home providing accommodation for people who require nursing or personal care. The service can support up to 101 people. The service provides support to older people some of who are living with dementia. At the time of our inspection there were 68 people using the service.
People’s experience of using this service and what we found
There were not enough staff deployed to meet people's needs. Whilst dependency tools identified there were enough staff to meet people’s needs, feedback from staff, people and relatives did not support this. There were suitable recruitment processes in place. However, these had not always been consistently followed.
People's medicine support was being managed safely. The service was hygienic and infection control measures were being manged to help prevent the spread of infection. However, some improvement was needed to ensure the service followed all best practice guidance.
Staff did not always have the necessary knowledge, skills or competencies to meet people's needs safely. We received mixed feedback about the culture of the service, with some staff saying they did not always feel well-supported or listened to by the management team.
Systems to monitor and assess the quality of the service were not robust. The provider had not identified all of the issues we found on this inspection .
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.
People were positive about the staff that supported them.
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 June 2021)
Why we inspected
We received concerns in relation to the management of accidents and incidents, weight loss and people’s hydration needs. As a result, we undertook a focused inspection to review the key questions of safe, effective and well-led only.
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 good to requires improvement based on the findings of this inspection. We have found evidence the provider needs to make improvements. Please see the safe, effective and well led sections of this full report.
Enforcement and Recommendations
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 breaches in relation to staffing, staff training and support and governance arrangement 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 continue to monitor information we receive about the service, which will help inform when we next inspect.