Greystones

We found the following examples of good practice:

People have been supported to maintain contact with their friends and relatives throughout the pandemic. Window visits and telephone or video calls were arranged for people. The staff were following government guidance in implementing safe in-house visiting. Visits had to be pre-booked. All visitors had to have a negative lateral flow COVID-19 test (LFT) before entering the home, their temperature was checked, and they were asked to use hand sanitising gel and wear a face mask. People's family and friends were kept informed of the visitor's policy and procedures that had to be followed.

No new people had been admitted since the start of the pandemic however their policy and procedure were that they would need to have a negative COVID-19 test result and agree to be isolated in their bedroom for a 14-day period. If any person was admitted to hospital, they would not be able to return to Greystones without a negative test result. The person would then be isolated in their bedroom for 14-days.

Peoples' health care needs continued to be met. The staff team liaised with the GP practice to share information and gain advice. A community nurse visited each day to meet one person's treatment plan, but other health care professional visits would only be arranged if essential. Each person and the staff team had received their first dose of the COVID-19 vaccination.

A weekly COVID-19 testing programme was in place for staff. People who lived at Greystones were tested every month. Additional tests would be performed if any were unwell or presented with COVID-19 symptoms.

Staff maintained social distance from each other and the people they looked after as much as they were able. Staff always wore a face mask on duty but added an apron and gloves when delivering personal care. They changed their clothes upon arrival at work and their uniforms were washed at work. There were four communal areas within Greystones which meant people were able to spread out from each other. A significant number of people however, preferred to remain in their bedrooms during the day. All bedrooms were for single occupancy. Some had their own en-suite facilities, others had a wash hand basin and a commode. People would need to be isolated in their bedrooms if there was an outbreak of COVID-19. The service had plentiful supplies of PPE.

A dedicated team of domestics maintained the cleanliness of all areas of the home. The home was clean and tidy and extra touch-point cleaning tasks had been added to tasks lists. The registered manager and deputy monitored the staff going about their duties to check compliance with PPE and the cleanliness of all areas of the home.

Infection prevention and control (IPC) training for all staff had been refreshed via an e-learning training package. This included donning and doffing of PPE and hand hygiene.

The provider had reviewed their infection prevention and control policies. These had been updated in line with COVID-19 guidance. The registered manager had regular contact with the local infection control teams and also the local authority, completing a 'daily tracker' update.

The five questions we ask about services and what we found