Archived: Blenheim House Nursing Home

Updated 8 January 2016

We carried out this inspection under Section 60 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 as part of our regulatory functions. This inspection was planned to check whether the provider is meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Health and Social Care Act 2008, to look at the overall quality of the service, and to provide a rating for the service under the Care Act 2014. This inspection took place on 15 October 2015 and was unannounced.

Before the inspection, we reviewed the information that we had about the service including statutory notifications. Notifications are information about specific important events the service is legally required to send to us.

The inspection was carried out by two inspectors and an expert by experience. An expert by experience is a person who has personal experience of using, or caring for someone who uses this type of service. Our expert by experience had experience of caring for people who lived with dementia.

We spoke with 18 people who lived at the home. We spoke with the acting manager and six members of staff and a senior manager who came to the home to assist with the inspection. One of the providers of the service also assisted us with part of the inspection.

We viewed four people’s care records. We observed care and support in shared areas and what daily life was like for people who lived at the home. We also checked records that related to the management of the home. These included quality checks, staff rotas and training records.

Updated 8 January 2016

The inspection took place on 15 October 2015 and was unannounced. The service was last inspected in April 2013 and met with legal requirements. Blenheim House is registered to provide nursing care for up to 34 people. There were 33 people at the home on the day of our visit.

There was not a registered manager for the service; however the acting manager had applied to us to be registered as manager for the service. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission to manage the service. Like registered providers, they are ‘registered persons’. Registered persons have legal responsibility for meeting the requirements in the Health and Social Care Act 2008 and associated Regulations about how the service is run.

The actions which had been identified by the service to keep people safe from verbal abuse were not always being carried out.

Staff were not always deployed in a way that made them accessible when needed. This could put people at risk if staff could not be located in an emergency.

Care records explained what actions were required to meet people’s care and support needs. People were consulted as part of the process of writing their care plans. Families were also involved if people were not able to make their views and wishes known.

Staff were caring in their approach to people when they assisted them with their needs. One person said “They can’t do enough for you they are all wonderful”. Staff were polite and respectful when they supported people with their care.

People were well supported to eat and drink enough for their health needs. Menus were planned with choices available which reflected people’s preferences. One person told us “I can have whatever I want and it is always good”.

The provider had a system in place so that the requirements of the Mental Capacity Act 2005 were implemented when needed. This legislation protects the rights of people who lack capacity to make informed decisions.

People were able to take part in individual activities as well as group ones. People told us that entertainers performed at the home and they went out on trips into the local area.

If people were able to and wanted to be they were involved in the writing of their care plans. Families were also asked for their input to ensure that people received care and support in the way they preferred.

People were well supported with their physical health care needs. Staff consulted with external healthcare professionals to get specialist advice and guidance when required.

Staff felt they were well supported in their work by the manager. People who lived at the home and staff told us they felt they could go to the manager whenever they needed to see them.

A system was in place to monitor and improve the quality of the service. Audits demonstrated that regular checks were undertaken on the safety and quality of the service.