Salvete Care Home

We found the following examples of good practice.

The service was only receiving essential visitors at the time of our inspection. Any person entering the building had their temperature taken, completed a health questionnaire and wore full personal protective equipment (PPE) including a face visor.

People were supported by staff in full PPE, whether that person was COVID-19 positive or negative. This is called barrier nursing. This is to protect both staff and people living in the service from spreading infection.

The deputy manager told us that they changed systems within the service to reduce the spread of infection. Medicine rounds and personal care visits had been changed so that those people with a negative diagnosis of COVID-19 were all supported first, followed by those who were positive.

Additional risk measures had been put into place, for example cutlery and crockery used by people with a positive diagnosis were disposable and disposed into rubbish bags within the same room. Laundry used by people with a positive diagnosis were bagged in red bags and clearly marked in baskets so that domestic staff took extra precautions.

The building was clean and free from clutter. The deputy manager told us that the cleaning schedule was updated at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. This now included three hourly touch point cleaning, where all regularly touched areas, such as light switches and door handles, were disinfected.

A room had been designated to store all items coming into the service for 72 hours to prevent the spread of any infection entering the service. This included post and gifts delivered from relatives. All items were clearly marked with the date and time that they entered the room.

The deputy manager told us that they were working collaboratively with colleagues from the Local Authority and CCG (Clinical Commissioning Group), and were well supported as a result.

The five questions we ask about services and what we found