Archived: James House

Updated 18 September 2020

We carried out this inspection under Section 60 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 as part of our regulatory functions. This inspection was planned to check whether the provider is meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Health and Social Care Act 2008.

This was a targeted inspection looking at the infection control and prevention measures the provider has in place. As part of CQC’s response to the coronavirus pandemic we are conducting a thematic review of infection control and prevention measures in care homes.

This inspection took place on 13 August 2020 and was announced. The service was selected to take part in this thematic review which is seeking to identify examples of good practice in infection prevention and control.

Updated 18 September 2020

About the service

James House is a care home that provides accommodation and personal care for up to 12 people. At the time of the inspection 9 people were using this service. This care home is owned by the Abbeyfield Society who have a number of other care services in the UK.

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

At this inspection we found the provider had made improvements in the areas of concern we found at the last inspection. The provider had addressed the environmental hazards identified at the last inspection and now stored equipment in an appropriate manner. However, we found some aspects of the service now required improvement.

Staffing need was not being assessed and people complained to us of not receiving a timely service from staff on occasions. Whilst people spoke positively about the care workers they all felt there was a lack of staff that sometimes impacted on the service they received.

One person’s documents had not been updated in a timely manner this had included assessments used to monitor their health and well-being.

Although not effective in addressing the concerns identified above the registered manager had systems in place to monitor and manage the quality of the service provided.

Medicines records were completed without error or gaps and medicines were stored in a safe manner.

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.

The provider notified the local authority if they identified a safeguarding adults concern. The registered manager demonstrated lessons learnt had been shared with senior staff working with the provider, so they could learn from each other’s experiences.

Staff had received an induction prior to commencing their role and ongoing training to support them to work in a well-informed way with people. Supervision was provided to support staff to undertake their role.

People told us they were given a choice of meals and that food provided was good. Care workers were reminded by the provider to ensure people remained well hydrated.

Staff were described as caring and people told us staff provided care as they wanted it to be provided. People were supported to make day to day decisions.

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 11 October 2018 (published on 4 December 2018). At this inspection there a breach of regulation 15 in Premises and equipment. The provider completed an action plan after the last inspection to show what they would do by November 2018 to address the concerns identified.

At this inspection we found an improvement had been made in this area and the provider was no longer in breach of Regulation 15. However, at this inspection we found a breach of Regulation 18 Staffing. And Regulation 17 Good governance. This service has been rated requires improvement in safe and well-led and good in effective, caring and responsive. The rating is requires improvement overall.

Please see the action we have told the provider to take at the end of this report.

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.