Briardene Care Home

Updated 26 May 2022

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 was conducted by one inspector.

Service and service type

Briardene Care Home is a ‘care home’. People in care homes receive accommodation and nursing and/or personal care as a single package under one contractual agreement dependent on their registration with us. Briardene Care Home is a care home with 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 sought feedback from the local authority, professionals who work with the service and Healthwatch. Healthwatch is an independent consumer champion that gathers and represents the views of the public about health and social care services in England. 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 this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection

We spoke with four people and three relatives about their experience of the care provided and observed staff interactions with people. We spoke with nine members of staff, including care staff, the deputy assistant, the clinical lead, the registered manager and the regional manager. We viewed a range of records including care records for six people and multiple medicines records. We viewed records relating to the management of the service, including one recruitment file, audits, action plans and policies and procedures.

Updated 26 May 2022

About the service

Briardene Care Home is a purpose-built care home providing accommodation and personal and nursing care for up to 60 people. The service provides support to older people and younger adults some of whom may have a physical disability and/or be living with a dementia. At the time of our inspection there were 60 people using the service.

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

People told us they felt safe. One person said, “It’s the next best thing to home, I do what I want when I want. The care staff are like my friends, they are very kind and caring.” Staff understood the procedures they needed to follow to safeguard people from the risk of abuse. Concerns were reported and appropriately investigated and analysed for learning.

Infection prevention and control (IPC) measures were in place to minimise the impact of COVID-19. Staff were knowledge about the procedures and followed guidance in relation to the wearing of PPE. Risks were identified, and measures put in place to minimise harm. Medicines were managed safely.

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.

Systems were in place to monitor and improve the quality of the service provided. The registered manager was aware of their responsibilities and they were embedding a culture of openness and transparency. We have made a recommendation about duty of candour.

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 1 June 2021) and there were breaches of regulation. 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 focused inspection of this service on 11 and 12 February 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 good governance.

We undertook this focused inspection to check they had followed their action plan and to confirm they now met legal requirements. We had also received some concerns about infection prevention and control. This report only covers our findings in relation to the Key Questions Safe and Well-led which contain those requirements.

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.

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.

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