OSJCT Rodley House

Updated 19 October 2019

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.

Inspection team

One inspector and an Expert by Experience carried out this inspection. 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

OSJCT Rodley House 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, the manager had applied to the CQC to be registered and was subsequently successfully registered. When registered 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.

This inspection was unannounced.

What we did before the inspection

We reviewed the information we had received about the service since the last inspection. This included previous inspection reports and details about incidents the provider must notify us about, such as abuse, serious injuries and deaths. We used information the provider sent us in their Provider Information Return as part of our Provider Information Collection. Providers are required to send us key information about their service, what they do well, and improvements they plan to make. This information helps support our inspections. We used all of this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection

We spoke with nine people who used the service and three relatives to gain their views of the services provided. We spoke with seven staff which included a representative of the provider, the home manager (subsequently registered manager), deputy manager, a nurse, two care staff and a member of the housekeeping team. We also spoke with one of the provider’s visiting admiral nurses. Admiral nurses are expert practitioners in supporting people who live with dementia and those who look after them.

We reviewed a range of records which included four people’s care files and records relating to the Mental Capacity Act 2005. We reviewed two people’s medicine administration records. We also looked at two staff recruitment files and the main staff training record. We reviewed a selection of audits completed by staff, the last provider audit and the home’s ongoing improvement plan.

After the inspection

We continued to seek clarification from the new managers to validate evidence we found in relation to water safety and improvements in relation to fire safety and evacuation arrangements, one person’s care plan and medicine administration monitoring.

Updated 19 October 2019

About the service

OSJCT Rodley House (known to people as Rodley House) is a residential care home providing personal and nursing care to 43 people aged 65 and over. At the time of the inspection 34 people lived at the home.

People lived in one adapted building which provided them with single bedrooms, bathing facilities and communal rooms to socialise in. People had access to a garden and there was car parking on site.

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

The registered manager and deputy manager had been working in the home for just over two months at the time of the inspection, so there had been a recent change in the management of the service. Both managers were experienced in managing and supporting adult social care services. In that time, they had worked with the provider to make changes to how the service ran to secure better outcomes for people. The home manager had subsequently registered with the Care Quality Commission (CQC) and become the registered manager of the service.

Changes had been made to staff routines, roles and responsibilities so that a more person-centred approach to people’s care could be adopted. People told us they felt well cared for by the staff who were kind and friendly towards them and who listened to them. Staff we spoke with felt positive about the changes taking place.

People, relatives and staff had been given opportunities to feedback their views and to make suggestions. Managers were listening to the feedback and suggestions they received when making changes to the service.

An on-going improvement plan was in place and some actions from this had already been met; others were making good progress. Observations were made during the inspection of people’s care, their behaviours and how staff responded to people’s needs. Subsequent information, provided by the provider, helped to put some context to the observations made during the inspection and demonstrated that staff took action to meet people’s needs as well as their preferences.

Safe staffing numbers were maintained, and new staff had either already been recruited or were in the process of being recruited; a new chef and activities co-ordinator. The registered manager said, “It’s about having the right staff, in the right place, at the right time and working in the right way.” People were supported to take part in social activities which they enjoyed and which they had helped to choose.

A recruitment campaign was in place for more permanent nurses, but arrangements were in place with agency nurses to ensure people’s health needs were consistently and competently met.

People’s care plans gave staff guidance on how to meet people’s needs. A plan was in place to further personalise people’s care plans to ensure these fully captured people’s preferences, choices and wishes. Care plans which related to higher areas of risk and more complex care had been well maintained, this included wound assessments and care plans.

A robust staff handover system was in place to ensure staff received verbal guidance and updates relating to people’s health and care needs. The deputy manager’s role included working with staff, they and the nurses were available to provide support and advice to staff about people’s care.

People had access to healthcare support and a more proactive and collaborative approach between professionals and the home was being sought to provide people with better support in relation to their health needs.

People’s health risks and care needs were assessed, and action taken to reduce risks to people. There were good arrangements in place for the ongoing monitoring and management of potential risks, including those related to wound management and health related infection. People’s medicines were managed safely. People’s nutritional risks were monitored and addressed. Potential environmental risks associated with the building, equipment or spread of infection were identified and action taken to reduce or mitigate these.

Staff received on-going training relevant to their roles, so they had the knowledge to work safely. Staff were being supported to acquire new skills and knowledge.

People were supported to make decisions about their care and treatment and were supported in the least restrictive way possible. The policies and systems in the service supported this practice. The principles of the Mental Capacity Act and Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards were met.

People’s privacy and dignity was maintained and people were supported to be independent.

Relatives were made welcome and one relative confirmed they were kept well informed about their relative’s progress. They said, “It feels like a real partnership.”

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

Rating at last inspection

The last rating for this service was Good (published 14 December 2016).

Why we inspected

This was a planned inspection based on the previous rating.

You can read the report from our last comprehensive inspection, by selecting the ‘all reports’ link for OSJCT Rodley House 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.