CQC report explained · a nursing home
What the CQC found at Douglas House
Rated Requires improvement: inspectors found the home was not performing as well as it should and told it what to change.
What inspectors found, May 2022
Douglas House was rated Good overall; inspectors found kind, person-centred care, but staffing and some medicines information needed attention.
This was the home’s first rated inspection since it registered. The inspection was unannounced and took place over three days. Inspectors spoke with people, relatives, staff and health professionals. They also checked care records, medicines records, staff files and the home’s quality checks.
Inspectors found that people were generally safe and received kind, respectful and personalised care. Staff understood people’s needs and supported choice, independence, communication, activities and relationships. The home also worked with health professionals and had systems for managing risks, incidents, complaints and infection control.
There were some areas to watch. Some people said staffing was not always sufficient at weekends and at night. Inspectors also found gaps in information about some medicines, although the manager said these were addressed after the inspection. All five areas were rated Good, meaning inspectors found the service was meeting the relevant standards at the time of the visit.
Kind and knowledgeable staff
Inspectors found staff understood people’s needs, preferences and communication methods. People described staff as kind and caring.
“People were supported by staff who were kind and caring and who understood their needs, preferences and what was important to them.” from the report
Personalised care
Care plans described people’s backgrounds, wishes and support needs. People were involved in planning and reviewing their care.
“Each person had personalised care plans which included information about people's life, their communication and their care needs and preferences.” from the report
Choice and independence
People were supported to make choices and do as much as possible for themselves. The home offered facilities and activities to support independence.
“Staff enabled people to do as much for themselves as possible and rehabilitation was structured into people's care plans.” from the report
Activities and relationships
People could take part in activities inside and outside the home. They could maintain contact with relatives and friends and receive visits.
“People had access to a wide range of activities on offer, both within the service and in the community, to help prevent people becoming socially isolated and to keep people active.” from the report
Learning from incidents
The home reviewed accidents and incidents, looked for patterns and took action intended to reduce the risk of problems happening again.
“Effective systems were in place to learn from accidents and incidents.” from the report
Night and weekend staffing
needs fixingAlthough staffing appeared sufficient during the inspection, some people said this was not always true at night and weekends. The provider was recruiting permanent staff and had added a team leader to night shifts.
“However, some people told us this was not always the case at weekends and at night.” from the report
Medicines information
needs fixingGuidance for one person’s when-required medicine was not easy for staff to find. Advice for covert medicines had also not been updated after a medicine changed. The manager said these issues were addressed after the inspection.
“Improvements were needed to the way information to support 'when required' medicines were made available.” from the report
Meeting changing needs
needs fixingSome people said the home could no longer meet their assessed needs. The manager said some people were being supported to move to more appropriate care settings.
“However, some people told us the service could no longer meet their assessed needs.” from the report
- 01How do you make sure there are enough permanent and familiar staff at weekends and during night shifts?
- 02How much agency staff do you currently use, and how do you make sure they know each person’s care needs?
- 03How do you make sure guidance for when-required medicines is easy for all staff to find and kept up to date?
- 04How do you assess whether the home can continue to meet a person’s needs if their health or disability changes?
- 05What improvements to care records have been completed since this inspection?
This was an unannounced first rated inspection covering all five key questions, including infection prevention and control under Safe. This explanation was written from the published report of 19 May 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.
Every inspection of Douglas House
3 rated inspections over 6 years: the service has held its Good rating throughout.
- May 2022Goodcurrent ratingstayed GoodSafe: GoodEffective: GoodCaring: GoodResponsive: GoodWell-led: Good
- June 2018Goodstayed GoodSafe: GoodEffective: GoodCaring: GoodResponsive: GoodWell-led: Good
- February 2016GoodSafe: GoodEffective: GoodCaring: GoodResponsive: Requires improvementWell-led: Good
- July 2019
Registered with the Care Quality Commission on 31 July 2019.
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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21 live-in carers within about an hour of Torbay
These are self-employed carers on PrimeCarers, the introductory agency that runs this directory. Each has a profile with their own rates and reviews from families, and you choose who to talk to.
Most charge £980 to £1,400 a week. 17 can care for a couple. 12 years' experience on average.
“She looked after my mum, who can be incredibly challenging, so well and so gently, and we always felt confident that my mum was getting the best care available.”
“She was not phased by anything, she was adaptable, kind & gave us complete confidence to go away & not worry about a thing!”
Every carer has had an enhanced DBS check in the last 18 months, ID and right-to-work checks and an online interview. Their skills and training are for you to check with them. Carers set their own rates, and who is free changes week to week.