Blandford Grange Care Home

Updated 28 June 2019

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 Care Act 2014.

Inspection team

Two inspectors, one expert by experience, who is a person who has personal experience of using or caring for someone who uses this type of care service, and a nursing specialist advisor visited on the first day of inspection. One inspector visited on the second day.

Service and service type

Blandford Grange Care Home is a ‘care home’. People in care homes receive accommodation and nursing or personal care as single package under one contractual agreement. CQC regulates both the premises and the care provided, and both were looked at during this inspection.

The service had a manager registered with the Care Quality Commission. 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.

Notice of inspection

This inspection was unannounced. We visited the service on 12 and 13 June 2019.

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 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 with key information about their service, what they do well, and improvements they plan to make. This information helps support our inspections. We used all of this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection-

We spoke with 15 people, four visiting relatives, nine staff, the registered manager and the provider’s regional manager.

We used the Short Observational Framework for Inspection (SOFI). SOFI is a way of observing care to help us understand the experience of people who could not talk with us.

We reviewed a range of records. This included four people’s care records and multiple medication records. We looked at four staff files in relation to recruitment and staff supervision. A variety of records relating to the management of the service, including key policies and procedures were reviewed.

We also spoke with three health professionals who regularly visit the service.

After the inspection

The registered manager sent us information relating to quality assurance, staff training, activities and end of life care. We continued to seek clarification from the provider to validate evidence found. We looked at training data and quality assurance records.

We received email feedback from three health professionals.

Updated 28 June 2019

About the service

Blandford Grange Care Home is a nursing care home providing personal and nursing care to 57 people aged 65 and over at the time of the inspection. The home can accommodate up to 63 people in a purpose-built building. The accommodation is over three floors with a lounge and dining area on each floor.

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

Blandford Grange Care Home provided a friendly, welcoming and relaxed environment for people and visitors.

People were supported by staff that were caring, compassionate and overall treated them with dignity and respect. Staff knew about people’s life history, personal circumstances, their preferences, interests and communication needs.

People received person centred care from staff who developed positive, meaningful relationships with them. People had opportunities to socialise and pursue their interests and hobbies. Care plans were detailed and up to date about people's individual needs and preferences.

People and relatives said the service was safe. Staff demonstrated an awareness of each person's safety and how to minimise risks for them. They were supported by staff with the skills and knowledge to meet their needs. Staff had regular training and felt confident in their role.

Risks to people's health, safety and wellbeing were assessed. Risk management plans were put in place to make sure risks were reduced as much as possible whilst still promoting their independence.

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.

There was strong leadership at the service and people, relatives and staff spoke highly of the registered manager. There was a positive culture at the service where staff felt listened to and supported. There was a drive to continuously improve the service for people and the registered manager and staff team were very responsive to any areas for improvement identified.

The registered manager and provider now had robust quality assurance systems in place to assess, monitor and improve the quality and safety of the service provided. There was open culture that focused on learning lessons and finding different ways of making improvements for people.

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

Rating at last inspection

The last rating for this service was requires improvement (published 14 June 2018). 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 in every key question we ask, and the provider was no longer in breach of regulations. The service is now rated Good in all key questions.

Why we inspected

This was a planned inspection based on the previous rating.

Follow up

We will continue to monitor intelligence we receive about the service until we return to visit as per our re-inspection programme. If any concerning information is received, we may inspect sooner.