Collingwood Care Home

We found the following examples of good practice.

• Visitors received updates and guidance before coming to the service to ensure they understood how they were protected and what was expected of them. Consideration had been given to maintaining high standards of infection prevention and control. For example, increasing cleaning schedules, removing soft furnishings and keeping rooms well ventilated where possible.

• Visits had been suspended at the time of our inspection. Visits were very important to many people, and these had previously been well planned to reduce risk and the spread of infection. When visits in person were not possible, people had been supported to keep in contact with friends and family using letters, phone and video calls. The management team provided regular updates to families on their loved one's wellbeing.

• Additional visits had been arranged over the Christmas period to ensure families could maintain contact with their loved ones. Gifts were quarantined before being given to people to support effective infection prevention and control.

• Businesses and people from the local community had been supportive towards the service throughout the pandemic. This included neighbours and local shops delivering food and other items on a regular basis.

• When people were admitted to the service, this was carefully planned, and guidance was followed to keep people safe and reduce the potential for transmission of infection. This included people having a negative coronavirus test before coming to the service, using a direct entrance to access their room, and isolating for 14 days on arrival. People and their families fully understood the need for these measures.

• Staff had undertaken additional training to ensure they provided safe care and were skilled in supporting people if they became unwell with coronavirus. They were competent in following guidance about infection control procedures such as hand washing and using PPE. Staff were motivated and committed to providing a high quality, safe service to the people who lived at Collingwood Residential Home.

The five questions we ask about services and what we found