This unannounced inspection took place on Thursday 18 August 2016.Brideoake Care Home provides personal care and support to older people with dementia care needs and is owned by Dennis Moore Care Ltd. The home accommodates up to 20 people and has 17 rooms, three of which are double rooms. The bedrooms are located on two floors and there are two lounges and a dining room downstairs. The home is situated in a residential area of Leigh within walking distance of the local shops and amenities. At the time of the inspection there were 20 people living at the home.
We last inspected Brideoake Care Home on 13 March 2015, when the home was rated as ‘Requires Improvement’ overall and in both the Safe and Well-led key questions. This inspection focussed on any improvements made since then.
People living at the home told us they felt safe living at Brideoake. The staff we spoke with had a good understanding of safeguarding, whistleblowing and how to report any concerns.
We found that medication was given to people safely, with staff receiving appropriate training. Management also undertook regular audits to ensure there were no shortfalls in practice.
Staff were recruited safely with references from previous employers being sought and DBS (Disclosure Barring Service) checks undertaken.
There were sufficient staff working at the home to meet people’s needs. Feedback from people living at the home, visitors and staff was that staffing levels were sufficient.
Staff received an induction when they started working at the home, as well as receiving appropriate training and supervision to support then in their role.
The home worked within the requirements of the MCA (Mental Capacity Act), with the manager completing appropriate assessments if there were concerns about a person’s capacity. The home also worked within the requirements of DoLS (Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards) and supported people to access outside space, whilst keeping them safe at the same time.
We saw people received enough to eat and drink, with people also making positive comments about the food provided at the home.
All of the people we spoke with during the inspection including people living at the home, visitors and health professionals made positive comments about the care provided.
People told us they felt staff treated them with dignity and respect and promoted their independence where possible.
We observed several caring interactions during the inspection between staff and people living at the home, such as when people became distressed and upset.
The staff at the home had facilities in place to enable people to communicate with their families such as an internet connection and the use of skype. This would be beneficial to people whose family did not live close by and wanted to maintain contact.
People felt the home was responsive to their needs and we saw examples of staff doing this during the inspection.
Each person living at the home had their own care plan, which was person centred and detailed people’s choices and personal preferences.
There was a complaints procedure in place which allowed people to voice their concerns if they were unhappy with the service they received. There were no active complaints at the time of the inspection.
All of the people we spoke with told us they felt the service was well-led and that they felt listened to and could approach management with concerns.
There were systems in place to monitor the quality of service such as audits, resident meetings, staff meetings and accident/incident monitoring.
Staff told us they enjoyed their work and liked working at Brideoake.