Nether Place Nursing Home

We assessed the quality statements from all the key questions; safe, effective, caring, responsive and well-led and we found the service had made some improvements and is no longer in breach of the regulations for safe care and treatment or for staffing. However, we found a new breach of the regulation for good governance and the overall rating for this service has remained requires improvement.

A variety of records associated with care and treatment were not always accurate, current or recorded sufficiently. These included records for the safe management of medicines, accidents and incidents and the monitoring of them, along with assessments of risks relating to people’s care and needs. Staff were aware of their safeguarding responsibilities. There were enough staff with the right qualifications and experience. Staff had received training and some supervision to support them in delivering safe and effective care. During the assessment we identified some minor concerns with the management of some risks in the environment These were addressed immediately by the management team. The home was clean, and processes were in place to manage infection prevention.

Decisions were made in people’s best interests where they did not have capacity to do so themselves. However, these were not always accurately recorded or always completed in line with best practice. Staff involved people and those important to them in their care planning. People were appropriately supported with eating and drinking. The staff team worked well with other organisations and services to support people to manage their health and wellbeing.

People were supported to maintain relationships with family and friends. At the time of this assessment there were limited hours committed to supporting people with group activities. However, there was a member of staff regularly providing social visits and activities of choice to people who were being cared for or chose to stay in their rooms preventing risks of social isolation. People were treated as individuals and with kindness, dignity and compassion and staff knew them well. People were encouraged to maintain their independence. Staff responded to people’s needs in a timely way. People’s personal, cultural, social and religious needs were supported. The management team cared about and promoted the wellbeing of their staff team, valued them and enabled them to deliver person-centred care.

The service worked well with commissioners to ensure that continuity of care for people was managed. People’s individual communication needs were identified, and information was provided in an accessible way. People and their relatives were able to give feedback on care. Staff understood about equality and diversity. The service contacted emergency services when required and knew when to involve specialist services in people’s care. There was a system in place for responding to concerns or complaints. People’s end-of-life wishes were noted and reflected in their care records.

There was an acting manager in post who is registered with us at another of the provider’s homes. They were being supported by the registered manager who is also the director of care for the company. Along with them there is a company compliance manager who supports the home with the oversight of quality and safety. There were a range of quality monitoring and auditing processes in place. However, issues seen during this assessment had not always been identified through those oversight processes and systems. The management team took immediate action to improve those processes to ensure they captured and could rectify those areas of concern. Management demonstrated a positive, compassionate, listening culture that promoted an understanding between them, the staff and people using the service. Staff felt very supported by the management team and were able to report concerns and said they were listened to.