Murdoch House

Updated 8 January 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. 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.

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

An inspector and inspection manager carried out this inspection on 9 December 2020.

Service and service type

Murdoch House is a ‘care home’. People in care homes receive accommodation and nursing or personal care as a 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 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

We gave the registered manager a short period notice of the inspection as we wanted to be assured that no one at the home was symptomatic considering the current COVID-19 pandemic.

What we did before the inspection

Prior to the inspection we looked at all the information we had collected about the service including previous inspection reports and notifications sent to us. A notification is information about important events which the service is required to tell us about by law. We also sought feedback from professionals who work with the service and received one response.

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 four people who use the service about their experience of the care provided. We spoke with three members of staff including the registered manager, and a senior carer.

We reviewed a range of records. This included four people’s care records and medication records, four staff files in relation to recruitment and staff supervision, maintenance records and a variety of records relating to the management of the service, including policies and procedures.

After the inspection

We continued to seek clarification from the provider to validate evidence found. We looked at training data and quality assurance records. We contacted four family members and six members of staff to gain further feedback about the service. We also contacted three further professionals. We looked at further training data and quality assurance records and policies and procedures sent to us after the inspection.

Updated 8 January 2021

About the service

Murdoch House is a care home without nursing that accommodates up to 25 older people in one adapted building. The accommodation is arranged over three floors, with lift access to each floor and is close to Wokingham town centre. At the time of the inspection, there were 13 people living at the service

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

The service had ensured that policies were now in place for when required (PRN) medication, meaning there was clear guidance for staff to follow. People’s risks assessments were clearly written and easy to follow, providing staff with clear guidance for managing risks to people and regular maintenance checks of the home were undertaken. 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 service had an open and transparent way of working to ensure the safety of the people living there. The provider was able to demonstrate that quality assurance systems had improved to ensure the quality of the service was maintained. People felt there were enough staff at the home and felt safe living there. There was a positive culture amongst staff at the service. Staff knew people they supported well and cared about their wellbeing. The provider was able to demonstrate their compliance with legal obligations and any learning from incidents or accidents was undertaken effectively.

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 Requires Improvement (published on 22 July 2019) where one breach was identified: Regulation 12 (safe care and treatment). The provider completed an action plan after the last inspection to show what they would do and by when to improve.

At this inspection we found improvements had been made and the provider was no longer in breach of regulations.

Why we inspected

We carried out an announced focused inspection of this service on 9 December 2020. The provider completed an action plan after the last inspection to show what they would do and by when to improve safe care and treatment.

We undertook this focused inspection to check they had followed their action plan and to confirm they now met legal requirements. This report only covers our findings in relation to the key questions safe and well-led which contain those requirements.

The ratings from the previous comprehensive inspection for those key questions were not looked at on this occasion were used in calculating the overall rating at this inspection. The overall rating for the service has changed from requires improvement to 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.

We found no evidence during this inspection that people were at risk of harm from this concern. Please see the safe and well-led sections of this full report. The provider has taken action to mitigate the risks and if this has been effective.

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