Benson House Care Home

Updated 8 July 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 team consisted of two inspectors and one 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

Benson 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. Benson 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 not 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 they had registered with CQC. 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 (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 looked at notifications received from the provider. A notification is information about important events which the provider is required to tell us about by law. This ensured we were addressing any areas of concern. We used all this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection

We spoke with four people who used the service and four relatives. Some people living in the home could not verbally give us feedback. As such we looked around the home and observed the way staff interacted with people. We received further feedback from one relative. We looked at six people's care records and four medicine administration records (MAR). We spoke with eight members of staff including the area operations manager, the interim manager, the deputy manager, nurses, carers, the chef, domestic staff and activities coordinator. We reviewed a range of records relating to people's care and the way the service was managed. These included staff training records, five staff recruitment files, quality assurance audits, incidents and accidents reports, complaints records, and records relating to the management of the service.

Updated 8 July 2022

About the service

Benson House is a purpose-built residential care home providing personal and nursing care to up to 70 people across three separate floors, each of which has separate adapted facilities. One of the floors specialises in providing care to people living with dementia. At the time of our inspection there were 38 people living at the service and only across two floors.

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

People living at Benson House received safe care from skilled and knowledgeable staff. Staff knew and were confident on how to identify and report any concerns.

Risks to people's safety and well-being were managed through a risk management process. Peoples care plans provided staff with the information they needed to manage the identified risks.

Recruitment checks were robust to ensure staff were suitable to work with vulnerable adults and staffing arrangements met people's needs.

We received mixed feedback in relation to staffing levels. However, on the day of the inspection we saw there were sufficient staff deployed to meet people's needs. The home was using agency staff to ensure continued safety. The provider was continuously recruiting using several staff recruitment and retention initiatives.

Medicines were managed safely, and people received their medicines as prescribed. The provider had an electronic self-auditing system which allowed safe management of all aspects of medicines. Staff had the necessary skills to carry out their roles. Staff had regular training and opportunities for regular supervision and observations of their work performance.

People and relatives told us staff were caring. Staff did all they could to promote people’s independence and we saw examples of this. People had access to other healthcare services, ensuring a holistic level of support was provided.

Staff demonstrated a commitment to people and displayed strong person-centred values. 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. Staff had a particularly good understanding of when the principles of the Mental Capacity Act should be applied.

People were supported to meet their nutritional needs and complimented the food at the home. We saw people had an enjoyable dining experience.

The home was led by an interim manager and a recently appointed knowledgeable deputy manager who were committed to continue improving people’s quality of life. The provider had clear oversight of the service which had enabled continuity of care despite changes in management. Staff were complimentary of the support especially from the deputy manager and the provider. The provider had effective quality assurance systems in place that they used to monitor the quality and safety of the service. Feedback from people and relatives highlighted a shortfall in relation to communication. However, the provider had recognised this and had introduced and was reinforcing some existing communication channels to improve their communication and the impact was still to be seen. Staff worked well with external social and health care professionals.

For more details, please see the full report which is on the CQC website at www.cqc.org.uk

Rating at last inspection

This service was registered with us on 25 February 2021 and this is the first inspection.

Why we inspected

This inspection was prompted by a review of the information we held about this service.

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.

Follow up

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