Culm Valley Care Centre

Culm Valley Care Centre is a service in a detached building over three floors in the centre of the market town, Cullompton in East Devon. The home is in walking distance of the town centre and local amenities. Since the last inspection the provider has had a large extension with an additional seven bedrooms and an additional communal lounge.

We found the following examples of good practice.

People were supported by staff trained and in line with government COVID-19 guidance. They had completed Infection control and Covid training. The registered manager confirmed they had regular updates and kept staff well informed.

Hand sanitiser and personal protective equipment (PPE) were available throughout the home. There were signs to remind staff, visitors and people about the use of PPE, the importance of washing hands, regular use of hand sanitisers and appropriate social distancing. Staff were observed wearing PPE in line with government guidance throughout our visit.

There had been several small Covid-19 outbreaks at the home during the pandemic. Relatives told us that they were kept informed about any Covid-19 outbreaks at the home. One relative said, "I am informed of any outbreak at the care home. A member of staff rings me, and this is followed up by a letter with any visiting restrictions. As soon as an outbreak ends, I am also informed of this by letter."

During Covid-19 outbreaks, the provider had needed to follow government guidance to restrict visiting at these times. They had ensured essential care givers had been able to visit and relatives of people receiving end of life care. Relatives gave us mixed feedback about being able to visit the home easily and others felt the provider was doing all they could to facilitate visits. Comments included, "Yes I have been able to keep in contact with my mum throughout the pandemic. She is more responsive to having a face to face visit so as an essential carer I find I can usually visit weekly. This can vary as the care home restricts the number of visitors at any one time and any visits have to be pre booked". Another said, "The safe visiting of residents by family and friends has continued throughout in some shape or form, ranging from pod visits, to window, and virtual on line, and I know at times they have had to face some difficult and unfair questioning by some, having to justify their actions."

On the day of our visit, the registered manager had been told by the local authority tactical team they could resume some visiting using a pod at the home. There was a visiting pod that had been created in the entrance hall of the home so that visitors did not have to enter the home itself. The registered manager said they had contacted relatives to advise them to schedule visits quickly in case of another outbreak

happening at the home. Relatives visiting the home were required to complete COVID-19 testing, have their temperature taken and complete a questionnaire.

The service actively engaged with a programme of regular testing according to government guidance.

The provider had ensured that staff met vaccination requirements. They had a system to ensure visiting professionals entering the home had been vaccinated.

There was a clear procedure in place, in line with national guidance, to ensure people were admitted to the service safely.

Cleaning schedules had been put in place to ensure high touch surfaces were cleaned regularly. The infection control policy was up to date and audits were in place to monitor IPC at the home.

The five questions we ask about services and what we found