Brook House Care Home

Updated 24 November 2023

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.

Inspection team

The inspection was carried out by 1 inspector, 1 medicines inspector, 1 bank inspector 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

Brook House 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. Brook House 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 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 CQC 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. We visited the home on 2 and 4 October 2023.

What we did before the inspection

We reviewed information we had received about the service since the last 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 used all this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection

We met and spoke with 8 people using the service and 8 family members. We also met and spoke with 14 members of staff which included the registered manager, regional director, clinical lead, registered nurses, care workers, activity coordinator, kitchen and domestic staff. We reviewed a range of records which related to people’s individual care and the running of the service. This included 16 people’s care files, 5 staff files and 10 medicine administration records (MARs) and protocols. We also looked at a variety of records relating to the management and quality assurance of the service including policies and procedures and a range of audits. We also obtained feedback from 4 care professionals.

Updated 24 November 2023

About the service

Brook House is a care home with nursing registered for a maximum of 47 people. People living in the home may have health and mobility issues associated with old age, physical disabilities or sensory impairment. At the time of our visit, there were 47 people living in the home.

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

Medicines were not always managed safely.

People were safeguarded from the risk of harm or abuse. Staff were recruited safely. People had risk assessments to reduce the risk of harm they may face.

Care workers we spoke with told us that there was a lack of staff on the 2nd floor. We raised this with management who said that they would review this.

People and their family members told us they were happy with the care provided and living at the home. People were supported by a team of consistent staff who knew them well and who had the right skills, experience and knowledge to look after them.

People’s needs were assessed including risks to people’s health and the environment they lived in which was monitored to ensure safety. The service was well maintained, clean and homely. People were protected from the risks associated from the spread of infection.

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.

We observed caring interactions between staff and people using the service. People's cultural and religious needs were met. Staff understood how to form positive relationships with the people they supported. Staff promoted people's privacy, dignity and independence.

There was a variety of activities available for people to get involved with. Care plans contained information about people's preferences and needs.

Staff spoke highly of the registered manager and said they felt well supported. Staff were able to approach the management team and felt valued and happy in their role.

There were systems in place for communicating with people, their family members, and staff to collect their views and feedback regarding people's care and support.

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

Rating at last inspection

The last rating for this service was good (published 07 June 2018).

Why we inspected

This inspection was prompted by a review of the information we held about this service. 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.

Enforcement and recommendations

We have identified 1 breach of regulation in relation to medicines management at this inspection.

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

Follow up

We will request an action plan from the provider to understand what they will do to improve the standards of quality and safety. We will work alongside the provider and local authority to monitor progress. We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service, which will help inform when we next inspect.