Princess Christian Residential and Nursing Care Home

Updated 11 August 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 two inspectors, a nurse specialist 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

Princess Christian Resident and Nursing Care Home 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. Princess Christian Resident and Nursing Care Home is a care home with 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

The provider completed a Provider Information Return (PIR) prior to this inspection. A PIR is information providers send us to give some key information about the service, what the service does well and improvements they plan to make. We reviewed information we had received about the service since the last inspection. This included statutory notifications of accidents, incidents or safeguarding concerns. We used all this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection

We spoke with nine people and two relatives to obtain their feedback about the care provided at this service. We spoke with 13 staff, which included the registered manager, clinical staff, care staff, the chef and the activities lead. We reviewed the care documents for 14 people, as well as the medicines records for people living at the service. We also reviewed five recruitment files. We received written feedback from six relatives in relation to the care their family member received at the service. We reviewed documentation from the registered manager in relation to accidents and incidents, infection control and training.

Updated 11 August 2022

About the service

Princess Christian Residential and Nursing Care Home (referred to as Princess Christian in this report) is a care home providing accommodation, personal care and nursing care for up to 96 people. The service provided care to people with long term health conditions, people living with dementia and people at the end of their life. At the time of our inspection, 83 people were living at the service.

The service is divided into three separate living areas, depending on people’s needs and dependency. We inspected all three living areas as part of this inspection.

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

People received an outstanding service in relation to the food they were provided with. There was a strong emphasis on the importance of eating and drinking. This ensured people continued to eat and drink, despite having health conditions which may make this element of their day to day living difficult. People regained their independence with their food and drink through staff input and where people were provided with a modified meal this was presented in a way that ensured it looked the most appetising it could.

Innovative and inventive practices were in place to meet people’s holistic needs from well trained staff who were happy in their role. This had resulted in exceptional outcomes to some people in relation to their health and well-being, including someone being able to walk again and another person to regain their independence at mealtimes.

The service had a creative way of training clinical staff which meant they did not spend a long time trying to recruit nurses into the service. The service was accredited by a national body to run courses to support clinical staff to achieve the necessary qualifications.

There were champions within the service who actively supported staff to provide outstanding care when people were at the end of their life. This meant people were enabled to live well until they die. As an outcome of their work, Princess Christian was invited to roll out their good practice to other services within the borough.

People’s lives were improved by staff. People’s well-being was promoted through the staff’s consistent and high level of care.

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.

There were sufficient staff to care for people and people felt cared for in a respectful, kind and supportive way. People felt safe living at Princess Christian and told us they received the medicines they required.

People lived in an environment which was suitable for them and promoted independence through the use of signage and equipment. The environment was well-maintained and clean, housekeeping staff working continuously in ensuring the environment was neat and tidy.

People told us staff were kind and caring and they could make their own decisions. People said there were things for them to do and they had access to an outside space. Where people had individual communication requirements, staff were aware of these.

People’s care plans contained good information for staff, although we found some that required additional information. The shortfalls we found were addressed immediately. The impact to people was low as clinical and care staff knew people’s needs very well. Those people at the end of their lives were provided with care in line with the Gold Standard Framework for end of life care.

The culture within the service was positive, people and their families felt the service was well-managed. People, their families and staff were supported to be involved in the service and staff told us they enjoyed their jobs.

The registered manager knew people well and was always looking for ways to improve the service. He worked well with external agencies to provide suitable and good quality care for people.

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 Outstanding (report published 21 January 2020).

Why we inspected

We undertook this inspection as part of a random selection of services rated Good and Outstanding.

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.

Follow up

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