All inspections: Brookfield Nursing Home

The inspection took place on 5 January 2016 and was unannounced. The service is a care home providing accommodation and nursing care for up to 25 people. At the time of our visit, 22 people were living at the home and all were accommodated in single bedrooms.

The home 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. Like registered providers, they are ‘registered persons’. Registered persons have legal responsibility for meeting the requirements in the Health and Social Care Act 2008 and associated Regulations about how the service is run.

At the time of our visit the service did not have a registered manager, however arrangements had been put in place to ensure that the home was well led in the absence of a registered manager and we were informed that a new manager would be confirmed in the near future.

We last inspected Brookfield Nursing Home on 16 December 2014 and at that inspection we found the service overall required improvement.

People told us that they felt safe in the home and there were enough staff to meet people’s needs. Staff had received training about protecting vulnerable people from abuse. The premises were clean and well maintained and a programme of significant refurbishment was in progress. There were arrangements in place to deal with foreseeable emergencies. People’s medicines were well-managed.

The staff on duty knew the people they were supporting and encouraged them to maintain their independence. People were treated with kindness, compassion and respect. The staff in the home took time to speak with the people they were supporting. We saw many positive interactions and people enjoyed talking to the staff in the home. People were able to see their friends and families as they wanted. There were no restrictions on visiting.

People had a choice of meals, snacks and drinks.

People's needs were assessed and care and treatment was planned and delivered in line with their individual care plan. We did not see evidence that people who lived at the home and/or their families had been included in planning and agreeing to the care provided. The care plans we looked at were not written in a person-centred style and were not all up to date.

We saw evidence of suitable quality monitoring systems in place and of stakeholders being invited to give their views.

The inspection took place on 16 December 2014 and was unannounced. The service is a care home providing accommodation and nursing care for up to 25 people. At the time of our visit, 24 people were living at the home and all were accommodated in single bedrooms. The other bedroom had been taken out of use as the management team no longer considered it suitable.

The home is required to have a registered manager, however we were informed a few weeks before the inspection that the registered manager had left the service. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission to manage the service. Like registered providers, they are ‘registered persons’. Registered persons have legal responsibility for meeting the requirements in the Health and Social Care Act 2008 and associated Regulations about how the service is run.

We last inspected Brookfield Nursing Home on 20 June 2013 and at that inspection we found the service was meeting all the essential standards that we inspected.

People told us that they felt safe in this home and there were enough staff to meet people’s needs. Staff had received training about protecting vulnerable people from abuse. There were arrangements in place to deal with foreseeable emergencies. The premises were clean and adequately maintained and a programme of significant refurbishment was in progress. People’s medicines were well-managed.

The staff on duty knew the people they were supporting and encouraged them to maintain their independence. People were treated with kindness, compassion and respect. The staff in the home took time to speak with the people they were supporting. We saw many positive interactions and people enjoyed talking to the staff in the home. People had some choices of meals, snacks and drinks. People were able to see their friends and families as they wanted. There were no restrictions on when people could visit the home. One person we spoke with had chosen to bring a pet into the home. They told us that it was very important to them that they were able to have their pet with them.

People's needs were assessed and care and treatment was planned and delivered in line with their individual care plan. We did not see evidence that people who lived at the home and/or their families had been included in planning and agreeing to the care provided. We found that where people lacked capacity to make informed decisions, an assessment of their mental capacity had not been undertaken.

Arrangements had been put in place to ensure that the home was well led in the absence of a registered manager. We saw evidence of suitable quality monitoring systems in place.

People we spoke with were very happy with the care that they received. One person told us 'you couldn't get better care than we have here' and another said 'the staff are second to none'. We saw letters of thanks that had been sent to the manager recently. One person had written about the 'wonderful care and attention' another wrote that 'staff were so kind and the support was above and beyond all expectations'. A number of people mentioned how welcome the family felt when they visited the home.

People received a choice of meals and facilities were available on both floors of the home to make hot and cold drinks at any time. Medicines were well managed to ensure that people always received what was prescribed by their doctor.

Regular health and safety checks were carried out to ensure the premises were kept safe. Employment checks were carried out to ensure that new staff were safe and suitable to work with frail older people.

People's needs were assessed and recorded in detail in their care plans. People we spoke with expressed their satisfaction with the care they received and with the staff. There were enough staff to meet people's needs and the staff were well trained and qualified. Complaints had been recorded and used constructively to improve the service.

During our visit we saw thank you letters that had been received at the home in the last few weeks. Comments that people made included:

Thanks for all you do to make the residents comfortable and the effort you put in to making special days such fun for them.

Your kindness and support during our days and nights spent with Mum were much appreciated. Thank you also for helping to create the peace which Mum gained.

You made his final years in such a warm and comfortable environment a very happy experience.

I always felt that she was in safe and caring hands.

My father was very happy at Brookfield, which was due to the wonderful way you treated him. I was always delighted when I visited to experience the interest, enthusiasm and camaraderie that passed between you.

One of the people living at the home said 'It is really extremely good', and another person who has been having a short stay said 'The staff are polite and pleasant and always willing to have a joke. They have looked after me very well here'. A lady sitting in her bedroom told us that she was bored. She said that the staff are very good 'but it is not their job to keep me occupied'.

Two visitors we spoke with said that there are lots of activities going on in an afternoon. The boys from the Grammar School come and do some activities. People do painting, have trips out, play cards and dominos; a singer comes in often and there are puzzles, quizzes and bingo. They also told us that they do not find the home as friendly and welcoming as it used to be. They said that 'the staff don't seem so happy and the atmosphere has gone'. Another visitor also told us that the home used to be more 'happy and jolly' than it is now, however she considered that residents are well looked after and the food is excellent.

Another relative we spoke with said that his mother has lived at Brookfield for three years and he visits her every day. He said that the staff are absolutely brilliant and he has no complaints about the care of his mother.

The people we spoke with were satisfied that their health and personal care needs were met. One person said 'I have been treated well here', but another person felt that she waited a long time for attention.

People we spoke with told us:

The girls are lovely.

The nurses and carers are all nice.

I think the staff are very good.

The staff are brilliant.

The staff are very nice, very pleasant. The odd one is a bit bossy but I take no notice. Nobody has ever been nasty or unpleasant, just a bit bossy.

'They take ages to come, I feel I get forgotten up here, but they are very nice when they come.'

Archived: Brookfield Nursing Home

All Inspections

5 January 2016

During a routine inspection

16 December 2014

During a routine inspection

20 June 2013

During a routine inspection

23 August 2012

During a routine inspection

1 September 2011

During a routine inspection