Primrose Neurological Centre

Updated 17 October 2020

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

The inspection was carried out by one inspector and a medicines pharmacist inspector.

Service and service type

Primrose Neurological Centre is a 'care home'. People in care homes receive accommodation and nursing or personal care as 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 did not have a manager registered with the Care Quality Commission at the time of the inspection. However, a new manger had been appointed and intended to begin the process of registering with us. This means that they, when registered, 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

We announced our inspection on the day of the inspection. This was because we needed to ensure we worked closely with the provider to ensure the risk of infection was minimised and national guidance in infection prevention and control were followed.

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 sought feedback from the local authority. This information helps support our inspections. We used all this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection

We spoke with two people who used the service and two relatives about their experience of the care provided. We spoke with ten members of staff including the manager and the regional manager. We also spoke with the new manager who had just been appointed at the service and the operations manager.

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

After the inspection

We continued to seek clarification from the provider to validate evidence found. We looked at environmental records, policies, training records and care records. We spoke with relatives and staff by phone.

Updated 17 October 2020

About the service

Primrose Neurological Centre is a residential care home for adults who have experienced a brain injury or have a neurological condition, which may include associated complex needs. The service can support up to 7 people in one adapted building. At the time of the inspection 4 people were living at the service.

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

Medicines were managed safely. Records reflected the help people need and audits identified when improvements were required. Recruitment procedures were followed to ensure staff were suitable to work with people who may be vulnerable. People were supported by staff who responded to their needs quickly.

People said they were happy at the service and they liked the staff. People were cared for in a clean environment by staff who were caring, competent and keen to improve the service provided. Risk assessments were carried out and staff could explain the reason for the assessments and how they followed them to help keep people safe.

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. People’s rights were upheld, and people received health professional advice when this was needed. The manager and staff worked with other agencies to improve the service provided.

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.

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 (published 27 August 2019) and there were multiple breaches of regulation. 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 improvements had been made and the provider was no longer in breach of regulations.

Why we inspected

We carried out an unannounced comprehensive inspection of this service in July 2019. Breaches of legal requirements were found. The provider completed an action plan after the last inspection to show what they would do and by when to improve in the areas of safe care and treatment, person – centred care, staffing and good governance.

We undertook this focused inspection to check they had followed their action plan and to confirm they now met legal requirements. This report only covers our findings in relation to the Key Questions safe, effective and well-led which contain those requirements.

At this inspection we found improvements had been made and the provider was no longer in breach of regulations.

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.

The ratings from the previous comprehensive inspection for those key questions not looked at on this occasion were used in calculating the overall rating at this inspection. Therefore, the overall rating for the service has not changed.

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

Follow up

We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service until we return to visit as per our re-inspection programme. If we receive any concerning information we may inspect sooner.