Bassett House

Updated 27 May 2021

The inspection

We carried out this inspection under Section 60 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (the Act) as part of our regulatory functions. We checked whether the provider was meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Act. We looked at the overall quality of the service and provided a rating for the service under the Care Act 2014.

As part of this inspection we looked at the infection control and prevention measures in place. This was conducted so we can understand the preparedness of the service in preventing or managing an infection outbreak, and to identify good practice we can share with other services.

Inspection team

Two inspectors, an assistant inspector and a specialist nurse attended the site visit for this inspection.

An Expert by Experience is a person who has personal experience of using or caring for someone who uses this type of care service conducted phone calls to people and their relatives away from site.

Service and service type

Bassett House is a ‘care home’. People in care homes receive accommodation and nursing or personal care as a single package under one contractual agreement. CQC regulates both the premises and the care provided, and both were looked at during this inspection.

The service had a manager registered with the Care Quality Commission. This means that they and the provider are legally responsible for how the service is run and for the quality and safety of the care provided.

Notice of inspection

This inspection was announced. We gave a short period notice of the inspection to enable us to discuss COVID-19 factors prior to our visit.

What we did before the inspection

The provider was not asked to complete a provider information return prior to this inspection. This is information we require providers to send us to give some key information about the service, what the service does well and improvements they plan to make. We took this into account when we inspected the service and made the judgements in this report. We reviewed information we had received about the service since the last inspection. We used all of this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection

We spoke with five people who used the service and thirteen relatives about their experience of the care provided. We spoke with eleven members of staff including the provider and registered manager.

We reviewed a range of records. This included fourteen people’s care records and multiple medication records. We looked at staff files in relation to recruitment and staff supervision. A variety of records relating to the management of the service, including policies and procedures were reviewed.

After the inspection

We continued to seek clarification from the provider to validate evidence found. We looked at training data and quality assurance records. We spoke with three professionals who regularly visit the service.

Updated 27 May 2021

About the service

Bassett House is a care home providing personal and nursing care for up to 63 older people. At the time of our inspection 61 people were living in the service. The service spans across three floors, with a variety of communal spaces on each floor and an enclosed garden.

People’s experience of using this service and what we found

Risks to people’s personal safety had been assessed and plans were in place to minimise these risks. However, some assessments were very generic and monitoring documentation was not completed correctly to evidence appropriate care had been given.

On the day of this inspection we observed staffing levels to be sufficient to safely support people. Staff were visible and call bells were responded to quickly. We saw that recruitment checks had not always been fully undertaken to ensure new employees were of suitable character.

The service was clean, tidy and free from any bad odours. The registered manager had good knowledge of current infection control guidance including guidance regarding the COVID 19 pandemic. People were able to receive visitors and safe measures were in place to enable this. The majority of staff wore PPE appropriately; however, we did observe one member of staff going from room to room without changing their PPE. This was addressed.

People's medicines were managed and administered safely. People we spoke with told us they felt safe living at Bassett House and staff were always available to help them.

The service promoted a positive culture. People told us they were happy living at Bassett and praised the management and staff team. Staff were positive about their roles and felt well supported.

Quality assurance systems were in place to monitor the quality of service being delivered and the running of the home. People’s relatives felt communication from the service during the pandemic had been good and enabled them to keep in touch with family members. Health and social care professionals gave us very positive feedback about their experiences of working with the service.

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 16 October 2018).

Why we inspected

The inspection was prompted in part due to concerns received about two people’s medicine management on discharge and a safeguarding concern raised by paramedics. A decision was made for us to inspect and examine those risks. At this inspection we did not find any concerns related to these incidents.

We undertook a focused inspection to review the key questions of safe and well-led only. 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.

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 have found evidence that the provider needs to make some improvements. Please see the Well-led key question of this full report. You can see what action we have asked the provider to take at the end of this full report.

Enforcement

We have identified a breach in relation to Regulation 17 Good governance at this inspection. This is in respect to the assessment and recording of risks to people. 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 for the provider to understand what they will do to improve the standards of quality and safety. We will work alongside the provider and local authority to monitor progress. We will return to visit as per our re-inspection programme. If we receive any concerning information we may inspect sooner.