The Poplars

Updated 29 November 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 by one inspector and one 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

The Poplars 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. The Poplars 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 provider is required to have a registered manager to oversee the delivery of regulated activities at this location. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission to manage the service. Registered managers and providers are legally responsible for how the service is run, for the quality and safety of the care provided and compliance with regulations.

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 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.

We asked the local authority and Healthwatch for any information they had which would aid our inspection. Local authorities together with other agencies may have responsibility for funding people who used the service and monitoring its quality. Healthwatch is an independent consumer champion that gathers and represents the views of the public about health and social care services in England. We used all of this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection

We spoke with 10 people who used the service and 1 relative about their experience of the care provided. Additionally, we spoke with 7 staff members including the registered manager, domestic support, maintenance person, deputy manager, senior carer, carer and director of care.

We reviewed a range of records. This included 3 people’s care plans and records of medicines administration. We looked at a variety of documents relating to the management of the service, including quality monitoring checks.

Updated 29 November 2022

About the service

The Poplars is a residential care home providing personal care to 27 people aged 65 and over at the time of the inspection. The service can support up to 33 people in one adapted building and supports people who may be living with dementia and physical impairments.

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

People were not always safe as the physical environment was not always suited or adapted to meet their needs.

The provider had assessed the risks associated with people’s care and support. Staff members were knowledgeable about these risks. However, some staff practice was not in accordance with safe care.

Although there were enough staff to meet people's needs, people found their interactions to be task driven and their opinions not sought in a meaningful way.

The provider had quality monitoring processes in place. However, these were not always effective in identifying improvements needed to ensure the safe provision of care.

People received safe support with their medicines from staff members who had been trained and assessed as competent. Staff members followed effective infection prevention and control procedures when supporting people. However, not all aspects of the physical environment supported effective infection prevention and control practices.

People were protected from the risks of ill-treatment and abuse as staff had been trained to recognise potential signs of abuse and understood what to do if they suspected harm or abuse.

People were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and the provider supported them in the least restrictive way possible and in their best interests; the application of the policies and systems supported good practice.

The provider, and management team, had good links with the local communities within which people lived.

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 3 September 2019). The provider completed an action plan after the last inspection to show what they would do and by when to improve.

Why we inspected

This inspection was prompted by a review of the information we held about this service. 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 the service has remained requires improvement, based on the findings of 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 the service can respond to COVID-19 and other infection outbreaks effectively.

We have found evidence that the provider needs to make improvements. Please see the safe and well led sections of this report.

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

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

Enforcement

We are mindful of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on our regulatory function. This meant we took account of the exceptional circumstances arising as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic when considering what enforcement action was necessary and proportionate to keep people safe as a result of this inspection. We will continue to monitor the service and will take further action if needed.

We have identified a breach of the regulations in relation to keeping people safe and overall management of the home.

Please see the action we have told the provider to take at the end of this report.

Follow up

We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service, which will help inform when we next inspect.