CQC report explained · a nursing home
What the CQC found at Donnington House Care Home
Rated Requires improvement: inspectors found the home was not performing as well as it should and told it what to change.
- Safe?
- Good
- People told inspectors they felt safe. Risks were assessed, medicines were administered safely, infection controls were in place and there were enough staff to meet people's needs.
- Effective?
- Good
- People's nutritional, nursing and health needs were supported. Staff had training and people were supported in line with the Mental Capacity Act and relevant legal safeguards.
- Caring?
- Good
- Caring was not part of this focused inspection, so no rating was given in this report. Inspectors did observe kind, compassionate and dignified interactions.
- Responsive?
- Good
- Care was personalised and people were involved in their plans. The home supported activities, communication, relationships, complaints and end of life wishes.
- Well-led?
- Requires improvement
- Leadership and governance were not consistent or effective enough. The provider lacked adequate checks on quality and safety, and some risks and problems were not identified.
What inspectors found, October 2022
Rated Requires Improvement; inspectors found safe, kind and responsive care, but leadership and quality checks were not effective.
Inspectors visited the home unannounced on 12 and 14 September 2022. They spoke with eight people, six relatives and seven staff. They reviewed care records, medicine records and management documents.
The home was rated Good for Safe, Effective and Responsive. People told inspectors they felt safe, received medicines safely and had enough staff. Inspectors also found kind, respectful and person-centred care, with support for health needs, activities and end of life care.
The home was rated Requires Improvement for Well-led. The provider did not have effective oversight of the service. This meant some problems with records, medicines guidance, accidents and incidents were not identified quickly enough.
The overall rating changed from Good at the previous inspection, published on 1 June 2019, to Requires Improvement. The provider breached Regulation 17 on good governance and was asked to send an action plan.
Safe care and medicines
Inspectors found that risks were assessed and reduced. Medicines were stored and given safely, including medicines needing extra controls.
“Medicines were stored and administered safely.” from the report
Kind and respectful staff
People and relatives spoke positively about staff. Inspectors saw compassionate support and care that protected people's dignity.
“People told us the staff were kind and compassionate.” from the report
Enough staff
People and relatives said staff responded promptly. Inspectors saw timely support and staff had time to talk with people.
“We observed people received support in a timely way and staff had time to sit and talk with people.” from the report
Personalised support
Care plans reflected people's preferences, routines and choices. People and relatives were involved in planning and reviewing care.
“Care plans contained person-centred information including people's personal preferences as to how they wished to be supported, as well as their likes, dislikes, routines, and choices.” from the report
End of life care
The home recorded people's end of life wishes and worked with specialist services. Nurses were trained to support comfort and pain relief.
“People who were nearing the end of their life, received compassionate and supportive care.” from the report
Weak provider oversight
seriousThe provider did not have adequate systems to check quality and safety. This was a breach of Regulation 17.
“There was a lack of provider oversight and scrutiny of the service.” from the report
Manager support and knowledge
needs fixingInspectors found gaps in the manager's knowledge and competencies. The provider had not given a robust induction or carried out enough competency checks, assessments and supervision.
“The provider had failed to provide the registered manager with a robust induction.” from the report
Fluid records and as-needed medicines
needs fixingChecks on fluid records were not strong enough, so the manager could not be sure records were accurate or risks were acted on promptly. Some guidance for as-needed medicines was not detailed enough.
“There was a lack of oversight and checking of fluid monitoring records.” from the report
Medicine policy update
minorAn updated medicine policy did not match recognised good practice guidance. The manager sought advice and took immediate action after inspectors raised this.
“The updated policy was not in line with National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) good practice guidance.” from the report
- 01What changes have been made to check people's fluid records and respond quickly to dehydration or urinary infection risks?
- 02How are as-needed medicines now checked against prescribers' instructions, including medicines for constipation, pain and mental health?
- 03How are accidents and incidents now reviewed for patterns and lessons?
- 04What induction, competency checks and supervision has the registered manager received since this inspection?
- 05What action plan was sent to CQC after the Regulation 17 breach, and what progress has been made?
This was an unannounced focused inspection of Safe, Effective, Responsive and Well-led; Caring was not inspected in this visit and the report explains that uninspected ratings carry over from the previous inspection. This explanation was written from the published report of 20 October 2022 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, April 2021
Inspected but not rated; inspectors were assured about infection control measures at Donnington House Care Home.
This was an unannounced, targeted inspection on 9 March 2021. It looked at infection prevention and control during the coronavirus pandemic.
Inspectors found measures for visitors, social distancing, testing, personal protective equipment and cleaning. They were assured that the home was preventing and managing infection risks.
People said they felt safe with the infection control measures. The home also supported contact with relatives through technology and provided activities and access to its garden.
The home was inspected but not rated. This visit did not give an overall quality rating or ratings for the other areas of care.
Infection control
Inspectors found that infection prevention measures were in place throughout the home, including testing, protective equipment and social distancing.
“We were assured that the provider was meeting shielding and social distancing rules.” from the report
Visiting arrangements
Visiting had been adapted during the pandemic, with testing for visitors and contractors and a separate entrance clearly signposted.
“Visiting was in line with government guidance and had been adapted throughout the pandemic to ensure visiting was compliant with government guidelines.” from the report
Clean environment
The home was clean and odour free, with extra cleaning of frequently touched areas.
“There was an enhanced cleaning regime in place which included regular sanitisation of high touch areas.” from the report
Contact and activities
People were supported to stay in touch with relatives using technology. Activities and use of the accessible garden were also available.
“People had been supported to stay in touch with relatives using technology such as video and voice activated devises.” from the report
Inspectors raised no specific concerns in this report.
- 01How are you currently testing people, staff, visitors and contractors for infections?
- 02How do you manage visiting now, and what infection control checks are required when relatives arrive?
- 03How do you make sure personal protective equipment is available and used safely?
- 04What arrangements are in place to keep frequently touched areas clean and to manage any infection outbreak?
- 05What information can you provide about care quality areas that were not assessed in this inspection?
This was a targeted inspection of infection prevention and control during the coronavirus pandemic; the service was inspected but not rated. This explanation was written from the published report of 9 April 2021 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 Donnington House Care Home
3 rated inspections over 6 years: the service has slipped, from Good to Requires improvement.
- October 2022Requires improvementcurrent ratingSafe: GoodEffective: GoodCaring: GoodResponsive: GoodWell-led: Requires improvement
- April 2021Inspected but not ratedSafe: Inspected but not rated
- June 2019Goodstayed GoodSafe: GoodEffective: GoodResponsive: GoodWell-led: Good
- December 2016GoodSafe: GoodEffective: GoodCaring: GoodResponsive: Requires improvementWell-led: Good
- October 2014
Report published without a new overall rating.
- July 2013
Report published without a new overall rating.
- January 2013
Report published without a new overall rating.
- January 2012
Report published without a new overall rating.
- December 2010
Registered with the Care Quality Commission on 7 December 2010.
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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28 live-in carers within about an hour of West Sussex
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Most charge £1,020 to £1,170 a week. 23 can care for a couple. 11 years' experience on average.
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