Newford Nursing Home

Updated 1 November 2017

We carried out this inspection under Section 60 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 as part of our regulatory functions. This inspection was planned to check whether the provider is meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Health and Social Care Act 2008, to look at the overall quality of the service, and to provide a rating for the service under the Care Act 2014.

This inspection took place on 9 and 13 October 2017 and was unannounced. The inspection team consisted of two inspectors 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.

Before the inspection, we asked the provider to complete a Provider Information Return (PIR). This is a form that asks the provider to give some key information about the service, what the service does well and improvements they plan to make. We reviewed this information in planning our inspection.

As part of our inspection, we looked at the information we held about the service, including the statutory notifications the registered manager had sent us. A statutory notification is information about important events which the provider is required to send to us by law. We also contacted the local authority and Healthwatch for their views about the service.

During our inspection visit, we spoke with eight people who used the service, four visiting friends and relatives, a GP and a tissue viability nurse. We also spoke with seven members of staff, including the registered manager, deputy manager, floor manager, activities coordinator, two senior care staff and one care staff.

We looked at five people's care records, medicine records, accident and incident records, complaints records, three staff recruitment records and records associated with the provider's quality assurance systems.

We also used the Short Observational Framework for Inspection (SOFI). SOFI is a way of observing care to help us understand the experience of people who could not talk with us.

Updated 1 November 2017

This inspection took place on 9 and 13 October 2017 and was unannounced.

Newford Nursing Home provides accommodation with nursing and personal care to a maximum of 41 people with physical disabilities, dementia-related illness and/or mental health needs. There were 38 people living at the home at the time of our inspection visit.

A registered manager was in post and present during our inspection. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission to manage the service. Like registered providers, they are 'registered persons'. Registered persons have legal responsibility for meeting the requirements in the Health and Social Care Act 2008 and associated Regulations about how the service is run.

At our last comprehensive inspection of the service on 26 April 2016, we found breaches of Regulations 12 and 17 of the Health and Social Care 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014 and a breach Regulation 18 of the Care Quality Commission (Registration) Regulation 2009. These breaches related to the provider’s failure to consistently and effectively assess, monitor and manage the risks to people, and a lack of clear leadership at the service. The provider had also failed to notify us of important events involving people who lived at the home, in line with their registration with us. We gave the service an overall rating of requires improvement. We undertook a focused inspection at Newford Nursing Home on 10 October 2016 to check whether the provider was now meeting their legal requirements and found continued regulatory beaches. The provider sent us an action plan setting out the improvements they intended to make.

At this inspection, we found the provider had made improvements to the service, and that they were now meeting the Regulations. The risks associated with people’s individual care and support needs had been assessed, recorded and reviewed, and plans implements to manage these. The registered manager had the time and support needed to provide staff with effective leadership and management.

People were supported by staff who had received training in, and understood, how to protect them from avoidable harm and abuse. The staffing levels maintained at the service ensured people’s individual needs could be met safely. Systems and procedures were in place designed to ensure people received their medicines safely and as prescribed. However, people’s medicines were not always securely stored at all times.

Staff received ongoing training and support to enable them to successfully fulfil their duties and responsibilities. People’s consent to care was sought and their right to make their own decisions respected. People had enough to eat and drink, and any associated risks were assessed and managed. Staff supported people to access professional medical advice and treatment if they were unwell.

Staff treated people with kindness and compassion, and took the time to get to know them well. People’s involvement in care planning was encouraged, and their views about the service welcomed. People’s rights to dignity and respect were understood and promoted.

People received care and support that took into account their individual needs and requirements. They had support to spend time doing things they found stimulating and enjoyable. People and their relatives were clear how to raise a complaint with the provider, and had confidence they would be listened to.

People, their relatives and community professionals described an open and inclusive culture within the service. Staff felt well supported and were clear what was expected of them at work. The provider carried out a range of quality assurance activities to assess, monitor and address the quality of the service people received at Newford Nursing Home.