19 November 2020
During an inspection looking at part of the service
Melton House is a residential care home providing personal and nursing care to 32 people aged 65 and over, some people were living with dementia, in one adapted building with bedrooms and communal facilities across two floors. At the time of the inspection there were 23 people living at the service, some staying for respite care.
People’s experience of using this service and what we found
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 received their medicines as prescribed, and were supported by staff to maintain their safety, levels of independence and well-being. Arrangements were in place to prevent social isolation, and maintaining people’s contact with their relatives during the pandemic period, including through the use of technology. People were supported to maintain good standards of personal presentation, and were living in a clean and well-maintained environment. People had a choice of meals and snacks to maintain their overall health.
There were sufficient numbers of trained staff, familiar with people’s individual needs and wishes to provide 24-hour care and support. People were supported to access medical input when required to keep them healthy. People and their relatives were encouraged to speak with staff and the registered manager if they had any concerns or wished to give feedback, which encouraged an open, and collaborative working culture within the service.
Rating at last inspection
The service was last inspected 20 May 2019, and was rated requires improvement, with recommendations made regarding areas of the service needing to be improved (published 11 September 2019). At this inspection we found sufficient improvements had been made in response to our recommendations.
Why we inspected
This was a planned inspection based on the previous rating, and in response to concerns identified at other locations under the same provider particularly in relation to infection prevention and control practices. We did not find evidence at this inspection to suggest any concerns in relation to infection control. Please see the safe, effective and well-led sections of this report for further details.
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 coronavirus and other infection outbreaks effectively.
We reviewed the information we held about the service. No areas of concern were identified in the other key questions. We therefore did not inspect them. Ratings from previous comprehensive inspections for those key questions were used in calculating the overall rating at this inspection.
The overall rating for the service has changed from requires improvement to good. This is based on the findings at this inspection.
You can read the report from our last comprehensive inspection, by selecting the ‘all reports’ link for Melton House Care 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.