Bluebell Manor

Updated 9 July 2024

Bluebell Manor is a care home providing personal and nursing care for up to 67 people, some of whom are living with dementia. At the time of the inspection there were 39 people living at the home. There are three units, Millview providing residential care, Bluebell providing nursing care as an intermediate care unit, and Wansbeck providing dementia care. We spoke to 9 people, 5 relatives and 3 healthcare partners. We spoke to 13 staff members including the home manager, clinical compliance manager, nominated individual, care staff and housekeepers. We carried out our onsite inspection on 1 August and 6 August 2024. Inspection activity started on 1 August 2024 and ended on 13 August 2024. The inspection was unannounced, and this was the first inspection of a newly registered service. The inspection was prompted by concerns received relating to the culture and staffing of the service. We found the service’s culture was not as good as it could be. Permanent staff knew people well however the high use of agency staff was impacting the care people received. Medicines were not always managed safely, when required medicines were not always recorded in line with best practice. Some care plans for people living with diabetes and Parkinson's were not up to date or fully completed. Lessons had been learned from accidents, incidents and safeguarding incidents, and were shared with staff. Care pathways, assessments and transitions were managed well. People felt safe at the service, however they felt staff were too rushed and were not able to give the best care they could. Consent was sought when providing care, best interest decisions and mental capacity assessments were in place when needed. People’s independence was supported. Staff felt able to speak up to some managers however, they said little action was taken around the most important problems. There were governance systems in place to identify issues however, outcomes and actions taken were not always clear.

Updated 9 July 2024

We received varied comments from people who lived at the service, relatives, staff and health care professionals. Negative comments related to staffing issues and the use of agency (non-permanent) staff who did not know people as well as permanent staff. One person said, “I get a shower when it’s available, I have one enough times a week. [Staff] are multi-tasking, I ask when someone’s available, sometimes you have to wait, they have a variety of tasks to do. I hate the weekends Saturday and Sunday have no identity. The weekends are very quiet and very depressing, there are quite a lot of staff off at the weekends.” People said that staff cared for them safely. One person said, “I’m safe and comfortable here.” People were happy with the management of the service and knew who to contact if they had any problems they wanted to raise. A relative said, “They are all very nice here now. [Person] can talk to them about anything, I think I would recommend [the home].” People said that staff promoted their independence and involved them or their families in decisions about their care. A relative said, “I’ve very much involved with the care plan, we communicate three times a week and when I visit, about any issues, I’m met by the senior [carer].” Another relative said, “[Person] is as independent as possible.” A person said, “I’m independent, when well, I make my bed, [housekeeping staff member] looks after my plants.” Feedback about medicines was positive, people said they got their medicines on time. One person said, “[Staff] will come in and discuss the different tablets, yes I’m involved.” A relative said, “[Staff] don’t discuss the tablets, I leave it to them, they know what they are doing.” Feeback about the food was varied. Relatives said, “I have dinner here every day, it’s nice food, well cooked,” and, “The food is improving but yesterday [person] didn’t like it.” One person commented, “Some of the food is good, breakfast is late if the staffing is down.”