Carrington Court

We found the following examples of good practice.

A robust process was in place for visitors to the home. This included a temperature check, completion of a COVID-19 lateral low test and signing of a declaration, confirming the visitor was well, not displaying symptoms or been in contact with anyone who had. Once these steps had been completed, PPE was applied before access to the home was permitted.

Contact with relatives had been maintained during the COVID-19 pandemic through window visits, video and phone calls, with extra telephones being purchased to support this. Indoor visiting had been supported prior to national and local lockdowns, with compassionate visits currently permitted for people receiving palliative care or to support metal health wellbeing. Full guidance was in place to ensure these were managed safely.

The home had implemented cohorting and zoning effectively to reduce the risk of inspection spreading. Colour coding of rooms was used, with staff allocated to these zones wearing matching coloured badges. A separate zone had been created for step down beds, with a communal lounge repurposed, to ensure visiting professionals could work safely and distance themselves appropriately.

Staff were allocated separate break times, with a break room provided on each floor reducing unnecessary footfall around the home. How staff travelled to and from work had been risk assessed with guidance provided to staff, to ensure this was done safely. The home used one specific taxi firm whose practices had been screened with staff wearing masks when travelling. Only people living in same household / support bubble could travel to work in the same vehicle.

To help in minimising the spread of infection, staff travelled to work in their own clothes, changing into their uniform on arrival before putting on PPE. Staff had all received PPE and infection prevention and control IPC training, with their competency assessed.

The home had effective cleaning procedures in place. Frequent touch points were cleaned at least four times per day, with records in place evidencing this.

The five questions we ask about services and what we found