Shawside Care Home

Updated 5 August 2021

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.

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 was carried out by three inspectors 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

Shaw Side Care Home is a ‘care home’. People in care homes receive accommodation and nursing or personal care as a 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 new manager who was in the process of registering with the Care Quality Commission. The registered manager 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

We gave the service 24 hours’ notice of the inspection. This was so we could be assured the service was free from COVID-19 infection.

What we did before the inspection

We reviewed information we had received about the service since the last inspection. We gathered feedback from the local authority. The provider was not asked to complete a provider information return prior to this inspection. This is information providers are required to send us with key information about the service, what it does well and improvements they plan to make. We took this into account in making our judgements in this report. We used all of this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection

During our visit we reviewed a range of records. These included ten people's electronic care records and risk assessments. We looked at five staff personnel files to review the recruitment process and reviewed the training and staff supervision records. We reviewed a variety of records relating to the management of the service, including policies and procedures and audits. We spoke with the interim manager, three care assistants, a nurse, a house manager and two housekeepers. We also spoke with eight people who used the service. The Expert by Experience spoke with five relatives on the ‘phone.

Updated 5 August 2021

About the service

Shaw Side Care Home provides residential and nursing care for up to 150 people. Accommodation is across five separate houses which are set within extensive grounds. At the time of inspection 120 people were living at the home. We inspected three of the houses – Oldham, Miller and Royton House.

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

Care was person-centred and people's care records described their likes and dislikes and how they wished to be supported. However, provision of meaningful activities was limited, and people had very little to do during the day. Staff commented, and we observed during our inspection, that they were extremely busy, with little time to socialise with people who used the service.

People told us they felt safe living at Shaw Side Care Home. The staff recruitment process was robust. The home looked clean and staff followed good infection control practices. Equipment safety checks were up to date. Medicines were managed safely. However, improvement was needed in the management of fluid thickeners.

We have made four recommendations. These are in relation to the provision of activities, the completion of care charts, staffing numbers and the management of fluid thickeners.

There had been a very recent change in the management of the service, with a new manager and clinical services manager employed. Auditing and governance systems were in place. However, these had not identified inconsistencies in the completion of some care charts. We could not be sure these had always been completed accurately.

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 good (report published 6 March 2020).

Why we inspected

The inspection was prompted in part by concerns we received in relation to the cleanliness of the home and staffing levels. As a result, we undertook a focused inspection to review the key questions of safe, responsive and well-led only. We reviewed the information we held about the service. No areas of concern were identified in the other key questions. We therefore did not inspect them. Ratings from previous comprehensive inspections for those key questions were used in calculating the overall rating at this inspection.

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.

We found evidence the provider needs to make improvements. Please see the responsive and well-led sections of the full report. The overall rating for the service has changed from good to 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 Shaw Side Care Home on our website at www.cqc.org.uk.

Follow up

We will meet with the provider following this report being published to discuss how they will make changes to ensure they improve their rating to at least good. We will work with the local authority to monitor progress. We will return to visit as per our re-inspection programme. If we receive any concerning information we may inspect sooner.