Ventress Hall Care Home

Updated 4 February 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.

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 was made up of 1 inspector and 2 Experts 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

Ventress Hall Care Home is a ‘care home’. People in care homes receive accommodation and nursing or personal care as single package under one contractual agreement dependent on their registration with us. Ventress Hall is a care home without nursing care. CQC regulates both the premises and the care provided, and both were looked at during this inspection.

Registered manager

This service is required to have a registered manager. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission to manage the service. 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.

At the time of our inspection there was a registered manager in post.

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. We reviewed feedback from the local authority and professionals who work with the service. 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 of this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection

We spoke with 6 people and 18 relatives about their experience of the care provided. We spoke with 6 members of staff including the registered manager, 2 nurses, the clinical lead, a maintenance person and a care assistant.

We reviewed documentation, inspected the safety of the premises and carried out observations in communal areas. We reviewed a range of records including 4 people’s care records, medicines records and quality audits. A variety of records relating to the management of the service, including policies and procedures were also reviewed.

Updated 4 February 2023

About the service

Ventress Hall Care Home provides personal and nursing care for up to 106 people, some of whom are living with dementia. The home is set over three floors, situated in its own grounds, with a range of communal areas for people to use. At the time of the inspection there were 68 people living in the home.

We expect health and social care providers to guarantee people with a learning disability and autistic people respect, equality, dignity, choices and independence and good access to local communities that most people take for granted. ‘Right support, right care, right culture’ is the guidance CQC follows to make assessments and judgements about services supporting people with a learning disability and autistic people and providers must have regard to it.

At the time of the inspection, the location did not care or support anyone with a learning disability or an autistic person. However, we assessed the care provision under Right Support, Right Care, Right Culture, as it is registered as a specialist service for this population group.

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

People felt safe living in the home and spoke fondly of the staff. Comments included, “The staff are wonderful, very helpful and they remember things. I have trust in the staff here, they know their job. I’m very comfortable and happy” and, “They [staff] really push the boat out to give the residents a nice time with such personal care and attention.”

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.

Risks to individuals and the environment were managed. People were safeguarded from abuse. Staff administered and managed people’s medicines safely. The provider learned from accidents and incidents to mitigate future risks. There were enough staff to meet people’s needs. Infection control processes were embedded into the service and staff followed government guidance in relation to infection control and prevention practices, in particular, relating to COVID-19.

The home was well managed. People and relatives were complimentary about the home and the care people received. The provider had an effective quality assurance process in place which included regular audits. People, relatives, staff and health professionals were regularly consulted about the quality of the service through regular communication, surveys, meetings and reviews.

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 requires improvement (published 26 August 2021).

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 unannounced comprehensive inspection of this service on 29 June 2021. Breaches of legal requirements were found. 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 and governance.

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.

For those key questions not inspected, we used the ratings awarded at the last inspection to calculate the overall rating. 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 COVID-19 and other infection outbreaks effectively.

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

Follow up

We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service, which will help inform when we next inspect.