Damfield Gardens

Updated 21 July 2022

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 Health and Social Care Act 2008.

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

This inspection was carried out an inspector, medicines inspector 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 care service.

Service and service type

Damfield Gardens is a 'care home'. People in care homes receive accommodation and nursing and/or personal care as a single package under one contractual agreement dependent on their registration with us. Damfield Gardens is a care home without nursing care. CQC regulates both the premises and the care provided, and both were looked at during this inspection.

Registered manager

This service is required to have a registered manager. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission to manage the service. 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.

At the time of our inspection there was a registered manager in post.

Notice of inspection

This inspection was unannounced.

What we did before the inspection

We reviewed information we had received about the service since the last inspection. We sought feedback from the local authority and professionals who work with the service. We reviewed notifications received from the service in line with their legal obligations. We used the information the provider sent us in the provider information return (PIR). This is information providers are required to send us annually with key information about their service, what they do well, and improvements they plan to make.

During the inspection

We spoke with six people and six family members about their experience of the care provided. We spoke with six staff members along with the registered manager and nominated individual. The nominated individual is responsible for supervising the management of the service on behalf of the provider.

We reviewed a range of records including four people's care plans and associated records, medicine administration records for 13 people and other records relating to the overall management of the service.

Updated 21 July 2022

About the service

Damfield Gardens is a purpose built care home that provides accommodation and personal care to up to 67 people; some of these people are living with dementia. At the time of our inspection, there were 64 people living in the home.

People's experience of using the service and what we found

During our inspection we found a number of improvements that were needed in relation to record keeping and governance. The registered manager and provider were responsive to the issues found and took immediate action to address them. However, this is the third consecutive inspection where issues have been identified with records associated with medicines and risk management and governance processes.

People spoke positively about the care they received, and family members were confident their loved ones were well looked after. People told us they felt safe and could talk to staff about any concerns they had.

Risks to people's health and well-being had been assessed and staff had a good level of knowledge and understanding about people's individual risks and how best to support them. We observed enough staff to meet the needs of people living in the home. However, some staff and people told us that during busy periods staffing levels were low.

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.

The registered manager had effective systems in place to learn from accidents, incidents and safeguarding concerns in order to prevent them from occurring in the future.

The environment was clean and hygienic. Staff received training in infection prevention and control and were provided with regular updates and changes to guidance; particularly in response to COVID-19. Staff and people using the service accessed regular COVID-19 testing. The service supported family members to regularly visit their relatives safely and had processes in place to prevent visitors from catching and spreading infections.

Staff spoke positively about their experience of working at Damfield Gardens and told us they felt well-supported by the registered manager. They told us they could speak openly about any concerns they had and were confident action would be taken where necessary.

It was clear from observations and conversations with the registered manager that they knew people well and had built positive relationships with those living at Damfield Gardens.

For more details, please see the full report which is on the CQC website at www.cqc.org.uk

Rating at last inspection and update

The last rating for this service was requires improvement (report published 3 May 2019) and there were breaches of regulation. This service has been rated requires improvement for the last three consecutive inspections. The provider completed an action plan after the last inspection to show what they would do and by when to improve. At this inspection, we found the provider remained in breach of regulation.

Why we inspected

We received concerns in relation to the standard of care people received; particularly in relation to personal care. As a result, we undertook a focused inspection to review the key questions of safe and well-led only.

For those key questions not inspected, we used the ratings awarded at the last inspection to calculate the overall rating. The overall rating for this service has remained requires improvement based on the findings of this inspection. We have found evidence that the provider needs to make improvements.

Please see the safe and well-led sections of this full report.

You can see what action we have asked the provider to take at the end of this full report.

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 COVID-19 and other infection outbreaks effectively.

You can read the report from our last comprehensive inspection, by selecting the ‘all reports’ link for Damfield Gardens on our website at www.cqc.org.uk.

Follow-up

We will request an action plan from 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 continue to monitor information we receive about the service, which will help inform when we next inspect.