Boulters Lock Residential Home

Updated 13 March 2020

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.

Inspection team

The inspection was completed by one inspector.

Service and service type

Boulters Lock Residential Home is a 'care home'. People in care homes receive accommodation and nursing or personal care as a single package under one contractual agreement. The 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: This inspection was unannounced.

What we did before the inspection

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 used the service and four relatives. We talked about their experience of the care provided. We spoke with seven members of staff including the registered manager, deputy manager, senior care worker, care worker, and the chef. We also spoke with the nominated individual. The nominated individual is responsible for supervising the management of the service on behalf of the provider. We used the Short Observational Framework for Inspection (SOFI). The SOFI is a way of observing care to help us understand the experience of people who could not talk with us.

We looked at a variety of records relating to the management of the service, including staff training, policies and procedures. We also reviewed three people’s care records.

After the inspection

We continued to seek clarification from the provider to validate evidence found. We contacted two health professionals to obtain their opinion on the service provided by Boulters Lock.

Updated 13 March 2020

About the service

Boulters Lock is a residential care home that was providing personal care to 30 people aged 65 and over at the time of the inspection. The service can support up to 32 people.

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

Boulters Lock clearly demonstrated how it delivered aspects of care over and above the expected standards. We found that people were at the heart of the service and the registered manager and staff were fully committed to providing high-quality person-centred care. Staff were clearly committed and compassionate, striving to provide excellent care at all times. People were treated with exceptional kindness, dignity and respect and received their care and support from a highly motivated and dedicated staff team. A relative commented, ‘The staff were always so kind and caring, making Boulters feel homely and friendly. [Person] assumed he had moved into a hotel when he arrived and settled in very quickly.’

People were supported to engage in activities outside of the usual opportunities. For example, going to a nightclub and having a tattoo. This was because people’s choices were respected and enabled.

We heard from relatives that their loved ones had received the care and support to enable them to have a dignified and pain free death. Staff had received training and had the values to ensure people and their relatives received support at this time. One relative said, ‘[Person’s] final weeks were handled with real care and dignity and the quality of the care received was to the highest standard. I will always be grateful to the manager and her team. I realise that many people played their part in the wonderful dedication to [person].’

People, relatives, and staff told us the service had strong leadership and an open and supportive culture. The registered manager, supported by their senior management team, had established a person-centred culture amongst the staff team, that consistently delivered high quality care. The registered manager and all staff were passionate and motivated about their roles and understood their responsibilities. The service identified areas for improvement so that people received a good service. People were actively engaged with to gain their views on the delivery of care and other issues within the home and their feedback valued.

People continued to feel safe living at the service. Risk assessments had been completed to ensure that action was taken to keep people safe. Staffing levels were appropriate to meet people's needs in a timely manner. People received their medicines as prescribed. There were systems in place to record, monitor and learn from accidents and incidents.

Staff had the knowledge, skills and support they needed to meet people's needs effectively. People's physical, emotional, and social needs were identified so staff could meet these. People received support with eating and drinking when needed. People were supported to maintain good health and were supported by or referred to the relevant healthcare professionals. People consented to their care or, when appropriate best interest decisions were taken on their behalf.

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 (published 11 July 2017)

Why we inspected: This was a planned inspection based on the previous rating.

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.