Apollo House

Updated 23 December 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

This inspection was carried out by two inspectors, a specialist nursing adviser and an expert 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

Apollo House 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. Apollo House 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.

Inspection activity started on 26 October 2022 and ended on 3 November 2022. We visited the location on 26 and 31 October 2022.

What we did before inspection

We reviewed information we had received about the service since the last inspection. We sought 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. 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 7 people who used the service and 1 person’s relative about their experience of the care provided. We spoke with 12 members of staff including the registered manager, operations manager, clinical lead, nursing staff, care staff, administration staff, housekeeping staff and maintenance staff.

We reviewed a range of records, including 10 people’s care records, multiple medicines records and 6 staff files in relation to recruitment. We also looked at a variety of records relating to the management of the service, including quality assurance records.

After the inspection

We continued to seek clarification from the provider to validate evidence found. We looked at care documentation, staff allocation and training data and records relating to the management of the service.

Updated 23 December 2022

About the service

Apollo House is a residential care home providing nursing and personal care to up to 61 people. The service provides support to older people and people living with dementia. At the time of our inspection there were 56 people using the service.

Apollo House accommodates people across four separate floors, each of which has separate adapted facilities.

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

Staff knew what signs to look for to keep people safe from harm or abuse. Some staff were unsure how to follow external safeguarding and whistleblowing reporting procedures. We have made a recommendation about developing staff knowledge of external reporting processes.

The systems and processes for identifying risks to people had improved. Further improvements were required to ensure effective management of environmental risks.

Risk assessments were fully completed, and strategies identified to mitigate risks. Care plans were in place where physical intervention may be required to keep people safe, these would benefit from review to ensure they contain more detailed information about people’s needs. People's healthcare needs were recorded and well managed. Records of care tasks were fully completed.

Unexplained injuries were investigated to establish the cause and to protect people from abuse and records of injuries were kept up to date with follow up information.

Medicine management had improved. People received their medicines as prescribed from trained staff.

Staffing levels were appropriate during the inspection, and people told us there were enough staff to meet their needs safely. Staff had received all of the training required to support the people living at Apollo House.

Staff felt supported within their roles and felt confident to discuss any concerns they may have with the management team.

Feedback was sought from people, relatives and staff to identify where improvements were needed. Staff, people and relatives were also offered regular meetings to share information and discuss any concerns they had.

People were protected against infections such as COVID-19. Staff followed government guidance and wore appropriate personal protective equipment (PPE). The home appeared clean. Cleaning schedules were in place to evidence when cleaning was completed.

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 to monitor the quality and safety of the service were in place to ensure people received safe and person-centred care. These required time to be embedded in the service to ensure they were sustained and improvements continued.

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 2 June 2021) and there were breaches of regulation. At this inspection we found improvements had been made and the provider was no longer in breach of regulations. The service remains rated requires improvement. This is the second time the service has been rated requires improvement.

Why we inspected

This inspection was carried out to check whether the Warning Notices we previously served in relation to Regulations 12(1), 13(1) and 17(1) of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014 had been met. As a result, we undertook a focused inspection to review the key questions of safe and well-led only. The overall rating for the service has not changed following this focussed inspection and remains requires improvement.

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 remains requires improvement. 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 Apollo House 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.