Milton House is a residential care home providing personal and nursing care for people aged 65 and over. Some people were living with dementia. The service can support up to 28 people and at the time of our inspection there were 26 people living at the servicePeople’s experience of using this service and what we found
Infection control measures had been increased since COVID-19. However, CQC signposted the provider towards the guidance for Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) in Care Homes for their staff as we observed that staff were not following the guidance in relation to the type of masks required. The provider has now confirmed that the correct masks have been ordered.
Risk assessments were in place to support people to receive safe care. We discussed with the manager the need to ensure that all parts of the care file were updated with current risk.
People's medicines were managed safely and there were enough staff available to meet people’s needs. People told us they felt safe. The staff team were consistent and had a good understanding of how to care for people who lived at the service.
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, their relatives and staff were positive about how the service was managed. The manager was visible and approachable.
The management team were eager to learn and share good practice and this helped people remain safe. Systems were in place to audit the care provided.
The last rating for this service was good (published 15 January 2019).
Why we inspected
The inspection was prompted in part due to concerns received in relation to safeguarding and the management of the service. As a result, 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 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 improvement. Please see the safe and well led sections of this full report.
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.