Rockingham House

Updated 4 March 2022

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.

As part of CQC’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic we are looking at how services manage infection control and visiting arrangements. This was a targeted inspection looking at the infection prevention and control measures the provider had in place. We also asked the provider about any staffing pressures the service was experiencing and whether this was having an impact on the service.

This inspection took place on 25 February 2022 and was announced. We gave the service 24 hours' notice of the inspection.

Updated 4 March 2022

This inspection took place on 28 June and 5 July 2018 and was unannounced.

Rockingham House is registered to provide residential care for up to 26 older people. The service is a ‘care home’. People in care homes receive accommodation and nursing or personal care as single package under one contractual agreement. The Care Quality Commission (CQC) regulates both the premises and the care provided, and both were looked at during this inspection.

The service is a converted and extended town house and accommodation is provided across three floors. At the time of our inspection, there was 21 mainly older people using the service.

At our last inspection, we rated the service ‘Good’ overall. At this inspection the evidence continued to support the rating of Good and there was no evidence or information from our inspection and ongoing monitoring that demonstrated serious risks or concerns. This inspection report is written in a shorter format because our overall rating of the service has not changed since our last inspection.

The service had a registered manager. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the CQC 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. They had been the registered manager since July 2015. They were supported by senior care workers and a director of care in the management of the service.

During the inspection people who used the service consistently told us they felt safe at Rockingham House. Staff were safely recruited and enough staff were deployed to make sure people’s needs were met in a timely and safe way.

Staff had a good understanding of people’s needs and very detailed risk assessments were in place to guide them on to how to provide consistently safe care. The registered manager closely monitored any accidents and incidents that occurred to identify any actions that could be taken to prevent a reoccurrence and keep people safe. Medicines were stored, recorded and administered safely.

The environment was clean and well maintained. Work was planned to replace carpets and renovate certain areas to develop a more dementia friendly environment. We spoke with the registered manager about developing environmental risk assessment to ensure it covered potential risks relating to single paned glass in windows. The provider acted to address this.

Staff received regular training and we received positive feedback about the effective care and support they provided. The registered manager used supervisions and an annual appraisal to support staff’s continued professional development.

People were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff supported them in the least restrictive way possible; the policies and systems in the service supported this practice. The registered manager had a very good understanding of the Mental Capacity Act 2005 and Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS). Staff provided effective support to help people make decisions and records clearly evidenced people’s rights were protected when they lacked mental capacity.

People gave positive feedback about the food provided and staff supported people to make sure they ate and drank enough. Staff worked closely with healthcare professionals to make sure the care and supported met people’s needs and they received medical attention when necessary.

Staff were very kind and caring. They provided attentive care and support in a respectful and compassionate way. People told us staff maintained their privacy and dignity. People had choice and control over their daily routines and staff respected people’s decisions.

Staff provided person-centred care and support. They knew people well and were responsive to their needs. People’s care plans were very detailed and person-centred and supported staff to provide good care. Care plans were regularly reviewed and updated to make sure they continued to meet people’s needs. People were supported to engage in a wide range of meaningful activities. We made a recommendation about developing record keeping in relation to this.

We received very positive feedback about the management of the service. People, relatives, professionals and staff told us the registered manager was very caring, approachable and responsive to feedback. There were clear systems in place to support the effective management of the service. Records were very organised and regularly audited to identify areas for improvement. The registered manager was very committed to delivering high quality care and promoted a person-centred, open and inclusive culture within the home.

The provider was proactive about researching and implementing changes in legislation and best practice guidance. This included for accessible the accessible information standard and the general data protection principle.