Garsewednack Residential Home

Updated 12 October 2021

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. This inspection was planned to check whether the provider was meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Act, to look at the overall quality of the service, and to provide a rating for the service under the Care Act 2014.

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

The inspection team consisted of two inspectors.

Service and service type

Garsewednack Residential Home is a 'care home'. People in care homes receive accommodation and 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 on this inspection.

Notice of inspection

The inspection was unannounced.

What we did before the inspection

We reviewed information we had received about the service since the last inspection. We also reviewed information that we held about the service such as notifications. These are events that happen in the service that the provider is required to tell us about. 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.

During the inspection

We spoke with six people living at Garsewednack. We looked around the premises and observed staff interacting with people. We also spoke with six staff, the registered manager and the provider.

We reviewed a range of records. This included three people’s care records and multiple medication records. We looked at two staff files in relation to recruitment and staff supervision. A variety of records relating to the management of the service, including staff training records and fire safety checks.

After the inspection

We spoke with three people’s relatives by telephone and requested feedback from professionals who regularly visited the service.

Updated 12 October 2021

About the service

Garsewednack Residential Home is a residential care home that provides care and accommodation for up to 21 older people, some of whom were living with dementia. At the time of the inspection there were 18 people living in the service.

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

Staff and the registered manager were kind, caring and compassionate. People were supported to maintain their independence and staff acted to ensure people’s dignity was protected.

Although the service had a number of staff vacancies, people had received the support they needed. Rotas showed staff and the registered manager were completing additional shifts to ensure planned staffing levels were achieved. People told us, “There are enough staff” and reported that staff responded quickly to any requests for assistance or support.

Recruitment was ongoing and records showed all necessary checks had been completed to ensure new staff were suitable for employment in the care sector.

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. The registered manager and staff team had a good understanding of the Mental Capacity Act 2005 and consistently acted in people’s best interests.

Peoples needs were assessed and identified before they moved into the service and the service had appropriately supported people to access external healthcare professionals. Risks in relation to people’s support needs had been identified and managed appropriately to protect people from the risk of harm.

People were complimentary of the food and all staff had a good understanding of people’s nutritional needs and dietary preferences.

The premises were clean and reasonably well decorated. Necessary safety checks had been completed by appropriately qualified external contractors.

The service was well led. The registered manager provided effective leadership and staff reported they were well supported. Quality assurance systems had identified that staffing pressures and restrictions associated with the Covid- 19 pandemic had impacted on training updates and the quality of some record keeping. Appropriate plans had been developed to address and resolve these issues prior to our inspection. A staff member, on restricted duties, had been allocated the responsibility for addressing the recording issues and additional in house and external training had been arranged.

We were assured that risks in relation to the COVID-19 pandemic had been managed appropriately. Staff had access to PPE and hand washing facilities, which they used effectively and safely. Regular testing was underway we were assured there were appropriate procedures in place to prevent the spread of the infection.

Medicines were managed safely, and people received their medicines on time and as prescribed.

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

Rating at last inspection and update

The last rating for this service was good. (Report published on 3 April 2019).

Why we inspected

Prior to the inspection we received information of concern in relation to the service’s admissions processes and management of risks in relation to hydration and nutrition. As a result, we carried out a focused inspection to review the key questions of safe, effective and well-led only.

We reviewed the information we held about the service. No areas of concern were identified in the other key questions. We therefore did not inspect them. Ratings from previous comprehensive inspections for those key questions were used in calculating the overall rating at this inspection.

The overall rating for the service has remained good. This is based on the findings at this inspection.

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 coronavirus and other infection outbreaks effectively.

You can read the report from our last comprehensive inspection, by selecting the ‘all reports’ link on our website at www.cqc.org.uk.

Follow up

We will continue to monitor intelligence we receive about the service until we return to visit as per our re-inspection programme. If any concerning information is received, we may inspect sooner.