Broom Lane Care Home

On this page

• Overview
• Shared direction and culture
• Capable, compassionate and inclusive leaders
• Freedom to speak up
• Workforce equality, diversity and inclusion
• Governance, management and sustainability
• Partnerships and communities
• Learning, improvement and innovation

We found 1 breach of regulation in relation to good governance. We reviewed systems and processes in place to monitor the service and found they were not always effective. People and relatives told us social activities and stimulation were limited. The management team was a newly established team and required development and systems required improving to become effective. Audits had not always identified issues we found during our inspection.

This service scored 57 (out of 100) for this area. Find out what we look at when we assess this area and How we calculate these scores.

The management team were relatively new in post and were focusing on areas which required improving. Staff felt involved in the home and told us the management team supported them.

The management team was a newly established team and required development and systems required improving to become effective. They were focused on addressing historical concerns and working alongside external professionals. Staff were complimentary about the management team and said things were improving under their leadership. Systems required reviewing and then embedding in to practice demonstrating a shared culture and vision.

Staff told us the management team were approachable. One staff member said, “Management will stay behind or come in early to meet with night staff for supervision and appraisals. Yes, I do feel supported by [manager and deputy manager].” Some staff felt staff morale had been low but was improving as the manager and deputy were working together.

The home had a manager in post who was in the process of registering with the Care Quality Commission. The manager was supported by a deputy manager and a team of senior carers. Some management oversight was not effective and audits to monitor the quality of the service had not identified areas to improve.

Staff and leaders felt listened to and felt they had the autonomy to speak up if they needed too.

Staff had access to the whistle blowing policy and had the opportunity to discuss any concerns during one to one sessions and team meetings.

Staff were complimentary about the manager and deputy manager and told us their leadership was improving the service. Staff felt they could approach the management team and felt listened to. One staff member said, “I have worked at Broom Lane for 15 years. I have never seen the management as much as I see [manager and deputy manager]. The office door is always open if we want to pop in on a day and speak to them. I have called them multiple times regarding the home/residents and always felt I have been listened to.” Another staff manager said, “The manager is very approachable.”

The provider had policies and procedures in place to ensure workforce equality, diversity and inclusion was promoted. The manager told us staff were treated fairly. The provider tried to support staff by being as flexible as they could with work patterns and preferences. The provider followed employment laws and tried to support staff.

The management explained the governance systems in place and felt they were suitable management tools to ensure issues were identified. However, we reviewed management processes and found they had not always identified areas for improvement which we identified during our assessment.

Audits completed by the registered manager did not reflect the concerns we found during our assessment. Audits in relation to things such as infection control and medicine management, did not identify concerns found during our assessment. For example, the infection control audit carried out in August 2024 did not identify any concerns. However, on our inspection dated 29 August 2024 we identified several concerns. This showed the audit was not effectively identifying and monitoring standards of cleanliness. A staff meeting dated 9 August 2024 identified that spot cleaning should take place, however, this was not detailed on the audit dated 2 August 2024. Also, a domestic meeting dated 23 August 2024, highlighted that cleanliness of the home had declined dramatically.

People Told us they received support from staff to access external agencies. However, people told us they were not aware resident meetings took place and had limited opportunities to access the community.

Staff told us that a variety of health and social care professionals were involved in supporting people. We spoke with staff about engagement with the local community and they told us sometimes entertainers visited the home. The management team and shared some evidence of activities which had occurred at the home but there was a lack of community engagement.

People had been referred to healthcare professionals as required. Dieticians, GP's, district nurses etc. Healthcare professionals had been supporting staff with improvements.

We saw evidence that professionals visited the service to support staff to care for people. We saw people's care plans included referrals to healthcare professionals as and when required. Advise was documented in care plans although this needed to be more in depth and reflective of people’s current needs.

Staff told us improvements had been made since the current manager and deputy were appointed. The management team told us they learnt lessons and used concerns as learning opportunities. Both staff and leaders recognised there were still improvements to be made.

The provider had a resident’s survey, and we reviewed a sample selection. We noted people selected a score from 1 to 4, 4 being the best. Most people had selected 4 but quite a few had selected a score of 3. These areas included cleanliness, staff knowledge, consent to care and treatment, family and friend being involved in decisions about care. There was no plan of action in place to drive the service forward to a score of 4. One person commented they are not able to go to bed when they want to. They want to go at 8pm but it can be 11pm or even 11.30pm, this had not been addressed.