The Callywhite Care Home

Updated 28 December 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

This inspection was completed by one 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

The Callywhite Care Home 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 had a manager who was completing the process to be registered with the Care Quality Commission. 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.

Notice of inspection

This inspection was unannounced.

What we did before the inspection

We reviewed information we had received about the service since the last inspection. The provider was not asked to complete a provider information return prior to this inspection. This is information we require providers to send us to give some key information about the service, what the service does well and improvements they plan to make. We took this into account when we inspected the service and made the judgements in this report.

We used all of this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection

We spoke with 12 people who used the service and three relatives about their experience of the care provided. As some people were unable to tell us about their experience of living at Callywhite Care Home we observed the care and support of people in the communal areas of the home. We spoke with five members of staff including the provider, manager and care workers.

We reviewed a range of records. This included people’s electronic care records and a sample of medication records. We looked at two staff files in relation to recruitment and staff training. We also looked at a variety of records relating to the management of the service.

Updated 28 December 2019

About the service

The Callywhite Care Home is a residential care home providing personal to 35 people aged 65 and over at the time of the inspection. The service can support up to 39 people. Some people were living with dementia. Care is provided over three floors. Communal rooms are available on each floor.

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

We found some improvements were required and people’s experience of care was not consistent throughout the home. People were not supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff did not support them in the least restrictive way possible and in their best interests; the policies and systems in the service did not support this practice. The arrangements to support people who needed help with decision making were not consistent. Some people were being deprived of their liberty to access their bedrooms however staff had not recognised this as a restriction or made the decision based on their best interest.

Some people, living with dementia, were not supported to eat the food they preferred. There was a lack of pictorial information to support people to recognise communal rooms.

Management processes were being reviewed. However, we found notifications were not always submitted, and some paperwork required review. The audit programme for quality monitoring had been extended.

There were a sufficient number of suitable recruited staff to meet people’s needs in a timely manner. Staff had access to training and support to improve their knowledge of care and enhance their skills. Staff were kind, considerate and reassuring to people.

There was an activity programme in place and people were supported to maintain the relationships which were important to them. People felt empowered to raise concerns directly to the manager and staff.

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 28 June 2017).

Why we inspected

This was a planned inspection based on the previous rating.

We have found evidence the provider needs to make improvements. Please see the Effective and Well-Led sections of this full report.

You can read the report from our last comprehensive inspection, by selecting the ‘all reports’ link for the Callywhite Care Home 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.