Holly Bush Nursing Home

The service also facilitated outdoor garden visits, which meant families were able to see their relatives in the safety of the outdoors and following social distancing guidelines. People were also driven to their family homes, where they completed window visits in the comfort of a minibus that was owned by the provider.

All visitors were verbally asked and screened for symptoms of infection before being allowed to enter the care home. They were supported to wear appropriate personal protective equipment (PPE) and hand washing before and after visiting.

The service carried out monitoring checks of staff IPC practice and further training was provided when needed. This helped to assure the provider that people were protected and safe. Risk assessments had been carried out on people and staff belonging to higher risk groups and action taken to reduce the risks. Managers completed daily visual checks on staff testing registers to make sure all staff on shift had completed lateral flow testing.

Staff had received training on Infection Prevention Control (IPC) provided via external organisations as well as online training provided by the service. We observed staff used PPE effectively to safeguard people and visitors. The signages on donning and doffing of PPE and handwashing were visible in all relevant areas.

There was an up to date infection control policy in place and there were standard operating procedures that were regularly updated in line with changes in government policy. Staff and people receiving care had been vaccine. Regular testing was also carried out for people, visitors and visiting professionals in order to identify any positive cases as early as possible so that people could self-isolate to reduce the spread of infection.

The service had ensured there were sufficient supplies of PPE. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the service was able to reliably get hold of enough of the right PPE to meet people's needs. During the pandemic the provider promptly communicated with staff, people and relatives. This and regular communication with the host local authority, public health teams and community healthcare professionals helped to ensure the home carried out good IPC practice that kept people safe.

The five questions we ask about services and what we found