CQC report explained · a residential care home
What the CQC found at Brickbridge House
Rated Good: inspectors found the home performing well and meeting their expectations.
- Safe?
- Good
- Inspectors found enough staff, safe recruitment, suitable risk plans and safe medicines procedures. A recent safeguarding incident had been reviewed, with further training arranged for staff.
- Effective?
- Good
- This area was not inspected during this focused visit. Its previous rating was carried forward when calculating the overall rating.
- Caring?
- Good
- This area was not inspected during this focused visit. Its previous rating was carried forward when calculating the overall rating.
- Responsive?
- Good
- This area was not inspected during this focused visit. Its previous rating was carried forward when calculating the overall rating.
- Well-led?
- Good
- Inspectors found approachable management, regular feedback opportunities and quality checks. The manager worked alongside staff and acted on issues identified through audits.
What inspectors found, January 2020
Brickbridge House was rated Good; inspectors found safe care and good leadership, but this was a focused inspection of only two areas.
The unannounced inspection took place on 12 December 2019. One inspector spoke with four people living at the home, staff, managers and a visiting healthcare professional. Records about care, medicines, incidents, recruitment and quality checks were also reviewed.
The home was rated Good for Safe and Well-led. Inspectors found enough staff, safe recruitment, suitable medicines arrangements and systems for responding to risks, abuse and incidents. People said they felt safe and staff understood how to support them.
The home was also found to be well managed. People, staff and healthcare professionals spoke positively about the management. The home had feedback meetings, quality checks and action plans for improvements.
This was a focused inspection. Inspectors only reviewed Safe and Well-led in detail. The ratings for Effective, Caring and Responsive came from the previous comprehensive inspection and were used in the overall rating.
People felt safe
People told inspectors they felt safe. Staff understood how to reduce risks and knew how to raise concerns.
“People felt the service was safe and enjoying living at Brickbridge House.” from the report
Safe medicines practice
Inspectors found that medicines were received, stored and given safely. The home had improved its arrangements for covert medicines after the previous inspection.
“External professionals had been consulted on the use of these medicines to ensure they were safe to be given covertly.” from the report
Enough suitable staff
Staffing matched people's assessed needs on the inspection day. Recruitment checks were completed before staff started work.
“People received staffing support in accordance with their assessed need.” from the report
Good management oversight
The manager carried out audits and walkarounds covering care, records, the environment and staff practice. Action plans were used when improvements were needed.
“Any concerns identified were recorded in an action plan complete with timescales, so improvements could be made.” from the report
Recent safeguarding incident
needs fixingA safeguarding incident had happened shortly before the inspection. The manager said learning had taken place and further staff training had been arranged, so families may want to ask what changed.
“We had been notified of a safeguarding incident which had occurred in the weeks prior to the inspection” from the report
Communal bathroom condition
minorThe downstairs communal bathroom needed attention. The manager said it would be referred to maintenance without delay.
“We observed some attention was required to the condition of the downstairs communal bathroom” from the report
- 01What happened during the recent safeguarding incident, and what changes or training followed?
- 02Has the downstairs communal bathroom now been repaired, and when was the work completed?
- 03How are staff checked as competent to give medicines, including covert medicines?
- 04How do you make sure staffing remains sufficient when people attend appointments or activities away from the home?
- 05What were the ratings for Effective, Caring and Responsive at the previous comprehensive inspection, and have there been any changes since then?
This was a focused inspection of Safe and Well-led only; the ratings for Effective, Caring and Responsive were carried forward from the previous comprehensive inspection. This explanation was written from the published report of 24 January 2020 by an AI system and checked against the report text: every quoted line appears in the report. It is a guide to the report, not a substitute for it. Read the full report on cqc.org.uk.
What inspectors found, October 2019
Brickbridge House was rated Good; inspectors found safe, kind and personalised care, with some improvements needed around covert medicines.
This was an unannounced planned inspection on 27 August 2019. One inspector spoke with three people who lived at the home, five staff members, two relatives and two visiting professionals. The inspector also reviewed care, medicines, recruitment and management records.
The home was rated Good in all five areas: Safe, Effective, Caring, Responsive and Well-led. People were treated kindly, involved in decisions and supported to be independent. Staff understood people's needs, and the home supported healthcare, activities, communication and family relationships.
Inspectors found that medicines were generally given as prescribed, but covert medication was not being managed in line with best practice guidance. They recommended that the provider seek guidance. They also noted that new equality and diversity support plans were being introduced and that recruitment was under way after a staffing issue had been identified.
The overall Good rating was unchanged from the previous inspection, published on 25 March 2017. This means the report found consistently good care and management at the time of this inspection, but not that every process was perfect.
Kind and respectful care
People told inspectors they were happy and received good care. Inspectors observed positive interactions and found that privacy, dignity and independence were respected.
“People were treated well by caring staff.” from the report
Personalised support
Care plans included people's histories, preferences and communication needs. Staff knew people well and tailored activities to their interests.
“People received personalised care responsive to their needs by staff who knew them well.” from the report
Choice and independence
People were involved in care decisions and supported to develop skills, attend education and make choices about daily life.
“People's support focused on them having as many opportunities as possible for them to gain new skills and become more independent.” from the report
Good partnership working
The home communicated with health professionals and relatives, and acted on medical advice when people returned from hospital.
“Health professionals we spoke with told us the registered manager communicated well with them and was informative and open.” from the report
Covert medicines
needs fixingWhen medicines had to be given without a person's knowledge, the process was not in line with best practice guidance. Inspectors made a recommendation for the provider to seek guidance.
“Where the use of covert medication was required, it was not in line with best practice guidance.” from the report
Equality and diversity plans
minorCare plans covered some protected characteristics, but new support plans covering sexuality and relationships were still being introduced. Inspectors said they would check this at the next inspection.
“The quality improvement lead confirmed they were introducing new equality and diversity support plans, which would cover sexuality and relationships in line with the Equality Act.” from the report
Staffing issue being addressed
needs fixingManagement had identified an issue with staffing and was recruiting more staff. Recruitment was still in progress when inspectors visited.
“Action was taken to recruit more staff, which was in progress at the time of inspection.” from the report
- 01How are covert medicines authorised, reviewed and recorded now, and what guidance do staff follow?
- 02Have the new equality and diversity support plans covering sexuality and relationships been completed?
- 03Has the staffing recruitment identified in the inspection been completed, and are current staffing levels stable?
- 04How are people's monthly meetings used to act on their views and choices?
- 05How do you check that people's care plans and health guidance remain up to date?
This was an unannounced comprehensive inspection of the care home, covering all five CQC questions and both the accommodation and personal care provided. This explanation was written from the published report of 4 October 2019 by an AI system and checked against the report text: every quoted line appears in the report. It is a guide to the report, not a substitute for it. Read the full report on cqc.org.uk.
Every inspection of Brickbridge House
4 rated inspections over 5 years: the service has held its Good rating throughout.
- January 2020Goodcurrent ratingstayed GoodSafe: GoodEffective: GoodCaring: GoodResponsive: GoodWell-led: Good
- October 2019Goodstayed GoodSafe: GoodWell-led: Good
- March 2017Goodstayed GoodSafe: GoodEffective: GoodCaring: GoodResponsive: GoodWell-led: Good
- March 2015GoodSafe: GoodEffective: GoodCaring: GoodResponsive: GoodWell-led: Good
- December 2013
Report published without a new overall rating.
- February 2013
Report published without a new overall rating.
- March 2011
Registered with the Care Quality Commission on 22 March 2011.
Ratings and report dates from the Care Quality Commission, Open Government Licence v3.0. A home can also be visited without a new rating being published, so the timeline shows published inspections.
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