About the service Devonshire House is a residential care home providing care to up to 69 people. The service provides support to mainly older people some of whom are living with dementia. At the time of our inspection there were 49 people using the service.
People’s experience of using this service and what we found
Staff were not always following safeguarding procedures when they identified unexplained bruising. The provider took action to ensure this was resolved.
The quality assurance system had not been effective in identifying the issues we found during the inspection. Action plans were not always clear regarding who was responsible for the action and by when.
Medicines were stored and managed safely within the home. Medicines were administered in a timely manner and in a way that respected people’s preferences. The risk of people falling did not consider the contribution of the medicines they were prescribed.
Staffing levels meant that people were safe and they received their care in a timely manner. Recruitment procedures had been followed to ensure new staff were suitable.
Staff felt supported to carry out their roles effectively. People and staff were asked their opinions on the quality of the service. The local authority had supported the home with improving the safe use of medicines.
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.
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 (report published March 2019).
Why we inspected
We received concerns in relation to the number of falls, medication errors and unexplained bruising. As a result, we undertook a focused inspection to review the key questions of safe and well-led only.
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 good to requires improvement based on the findings of this inspection.
We have found evidence that the provider needs to make improvements. Please see the Safe 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 Devonshire House on our website at www.cqc.org.uk.
Enforcement and Recommendations
We are mindful of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on our regulatory function. This meant we took account of the exceptional circumstances arising as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic when considering what enforcement action was necessary and proportionate to keep people safe as a result of this inspection. We will continue to monitor the service and will take further action if needed.
We have identified breaches in relation to following safeguarding procedures and quality assurance at this inspection. Please see the action we have told the provider to take at the end of this report.
Full information about CQC’s regulatory response to the more serious concerns found during inspections is added to reports after any representations and appeals have been concluded.
Follow up
We will request an action plan from the provider to understand what they will do to improve the standards of quality and safety. We will work alongside the provider and local authority to monitor progress. We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service, which will help inform when we next inspect.