Magna Care Centre

Magna Care Centre is a nursing and care home providing personal and nursing care to up to 69 people. The home aims to meet the needs of older people including some people living with dementia, frailty of old age and end of life care. At the time of our inspection there were 41 people living at the home.

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

Since our last inspection the assessment and management of risk in the home environment had improved. This included the use of portable heaters and management of fire safety.

Following our last inspection management systems to monitor quality had improved and now provided effective governance and oversight.

Medicines were managed safely and were only administered by staff with the required skills and ongoing competency assessments. People told us they received their medicines on time and as prescribed.

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. Where people lacked capacity to make certain decisions their legal representatives had signed to give consent on their behalf.

People told us they felt safe living at Magna Care Centre. Relatives agreed that their family members were kept safe and well cared for. Visiting was encouraged and supported.

Staff understood what signs could indicate people are experiencing harm and abuse and how to raise concerns both internally and to external bodies such as CQC and the local authority. Staff told us they would feel confident whistle blowing if they observed poor or abusive care.

The home had an open and supportive culture. Staff felt appreciated and were supported to develop their skills and knowledge. There was unanimous praise for the registered manager from people, relatives and staff.

The home continued to recognise the benefits to people of its links with community organisations such as schools, youth and faith-based groups.

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 January 2020).

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.

At our last inspection we identified concerns in relation to risk assessments and management oversight of risk. As a result, we undertook a focused inspection to review the key questions of safe and well-led only.

For those key questions not inspected, we used the ratings awarded at the last inspection to calculate the overall rating.

The overall rating for the service has changed from requires improvement to good based on the findings of this inspection.

You can read the report from our last comprehensive inspection, by selecting the ‘all reports’ link for Magna Care Centre on our website at www.cqc.org.uk.

Follow up

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

Magna Care Centre is a nursing and care home for up to 69 people. The home aims to meet the needs of older people including some people living with dementia, frailty of old age and end of life care. At the time of our inspection there were 54 people living at the home.

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

Risk assessments had not always identified risks within the home environment. This included the use of portable heaters in the main lounge and combustible materials on people’s doors.

Medicines were not always managed safely. We found some medicines in use outside of their expiry dates; one of these was due to a labelling error by a pharmacy but this had not been identified by staff.

Although the home had management systems in place for monitoring quality these had not always provided effective governance and oversight and had failed to identify the above issues.

Although 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 that supported this needed to be more robust; namely around appropriate signing of consent by legal representatives and the detail captured in mental capacity assessments and best interests’ decisions.

People received person-centred care. However, people’s care plans needed improving to document and reflect this. This issue had been identified by the management and was included in the home’s action plan and staff meetings.

People felt safe living at Magna Care Centre. Relatives were confident their family members were receiving good care. Staff understood what signs could indicate people are experiencing harm and abuse and how to raise concerns both internally and to external bodies such as CQC and the local authority.

People were supported and encouraged to maintain a well-balanced diet. Their individual dietary needs and preferences were known and met.

People were supported with timely access to healthcare services when required. This included visits to or from district nurses, specialist palliative care nurse, GPs, chiropodists and dentists. Staff understood the importance and benefits of supporting people to maintain good oral hygiene.

Staff received regular supervision. This provided them with an opportunity to discuss concerns, reflect on their practice and consider learning needs.

People told us staff were consistently kind and caring and had got to know them well. Staff demonstrated an awareness of how to maintain people’s privacy and dignity and encouraged them to remain as independent as possible.

People had the opportunity to actively participate in a wide range of stimulating activities. This included inter-generational activities with local schoolchildren and 1:1 sessions for people who were more private or at risk of social isolation.

The registered manager had helped create a friendly, open and supportive culture. Staff felt valued and enjoyed their jobs. One staff member told us, “I don’t come to work, I come to home.”

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 (published 17 May 2017).

Why we inspected

This was a planned inspection based on the previous rating.

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.

At the last inspection, the home was rated Good.

At this inspection we found the home remained Good.

There was a registered manager who had been working at the home since the end of August 2016. 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 and associated Regulations about how the service is run.

Why the home is rated Good.

Is the home safe?

People felt they were safe and there were systems in place to safeguard people. Risks to people and the service were well managed and planned for. People’s medicines were stored safely and administered as prescribed. There were enough staff who were recruited safely to meet people’s needs. The home and equipment was well maintained and clean.

Is the home effective?

People were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff supported them in the least restrictive way possible; the policies and systems in the service supported this practice. People had good access to healthcare and staff referred people appropriately to health care professionals. People’s mealtimes were positive and sociable experiences. Staff were well trained and had they opportunity for development. Staff told us they were supported by managers at the home and felt invested in.

Is the home caring?

People and relatives told us staff were very caring and compassionate. Staff spoke to people in ways which showed they valued and cared about them. Staff supported people patiently and kindly and did not appear rushed. People were treated with dignity and respect. People were supported to make choices about their day to day lives and staff respected their wishes.

Is the home responsive?

People’s individual care needs were met by staff who knew them well and were familiar with the care they needed. People’s needs were reassessed when their circumstances changed and care plans were updated and included all the information staff needed to be able to care for people.

People and relatives spoke highly of the activities on offer at the home. People and relatives knew how to complain. No-one raised any concerns or complaints with us.

Is the home well-led?

There were significant improvements in how well-led the home was. People, relatives and staff told us the home was very well led by the registered manager who was committed to continually striving to make improvements to the service. The registered manager’s vision and values were imaginative and person-centred and made sure people are at the heart of the service. There was an open and inclusive culture where people, relatives and staff were actively consulted and involved in the decision making and development of the home. People, relatives, professionals and staff told us about the positive impact the registered manager and management team had on the quality of the service provided to people. They all told us how much the home had improved to the benefit of everyone involved.

Further information is in the detailed findings below