Herons Lea Residential Home Limited

We found the following examples of good practice.

Staff had ongoing training in infection control and effective use of personal protective equipment (PPE). They had an accessible file within the managers office to refer to with all policies and the latest up to date guidance on testing, visiting and rules in relation to being positive for COVID-19.

There were clear guidelines and checklists to ensure cleaning was completed to a high standard. This included touch points: we have asked the provider to consider ensuring recording shows touch points are cleaned more than once a day.

The service had followed government guidelines in respect of visiting. People told us they had been able to see their relatives. One said "They (staff) are very caring and have done a marvellous job keeping us all safe." We spoke with two relative who confirmed processes were in line with government guidelines. One relative said "They are very diligent with testing and keeping us to the visit times, but this is for the resident's protection and we fully understand."

Staff were seen to wear PPE at all times and people relatives said their observations were that staff wore masks at all times. We observed some staff were not bare below the elbow, they had watches on. We asked the registered provider to remind staff about best practice to ensure thorough hand hygiene can be maintained.

The service had developed a good testing regime for people, staff and visitors. They had a record of all staffs vaccinations to show they were compliant with this being a condition of employment. Similarly, they had a process in place to check any visiting professionals had been vaccinated and were testing for COVID-19. They had a very clear and easy read sign on the entrance door to explain what to expect if you were visiting.

The five questions we ask about services and what we found