Argyles Care Home

We found the following examples of good practice: ● The outbreak was effectively controlled by the service. The manager and staff had worked with support from the provider's own specialist staff, as well as collaboratively with external social and healthcare professionals. ● The service had increased testing for people, staff and essential visitors. This included both on the spot testing as well as swabs sent away for laboratory testing. ● The service had already designed and constructed a specialised visiting pod by converting a bedroom which connected with the outside of the building. This was not in use at the time of the inspection but had allowed safe visiting following government guidelines. ● There was increased vigilance of staff practice by the management team to ensure that correct infection prevention and control measures were being followed. ● Any areas for improvement were identified through good governance, auditing and reporting. Actions were promptly taken to address any risks that could lead to the continued transmission of infection. ● People who were at risk of experiencing loneliness or social isolation had additional interaction with staff and where possible remotely with their family and friends. ● The service contacted relevant healthcare professionals if they identified a person's psychological or emotional wellbeing was impacted by increased isolation. ● Staff were provided additional support to help prevent fatigue and ensure a good work life balance. This included having a work 'buddy' and access to remote support from employee assistance programmes.

The five questions we ask about services and what we found