CQC report explained · a residential care home
What the CQC found at James Burns House
Rated Good: inspectors found the home performing well and meeting their expectations.
What inspectors found, January 2022
James Burns House is rated Good; inspectors found safe, kind and personalised care, with some medicines recording and storage practices to improve.
This was an unannounced inspection on 9 and 13 December 2021. Inspectors spoke with three people using the service, four relatives and eight staff. They reviewed care records, medicines records, staff recruitment and supervision files, and management records.
The home provided personal care for 18 adults with physical disabilities, with places for up to 21 people. Inspectors found that people were safe, treated with dignity and involved in decisions. Staff were trained, staffing met assessed needs, and care plans reflected people's choices and changing needs.
All five areas were rated Good: Safe, Effective, Caring, Responsive and Well-led. The report makes one recommendation about medicines. It found that topical cream records did not always follow best practice and medicine storage temperature checks were not always done daily.
Risk management
People's risks were assessed, monitored and reviewed. Staff understood how to reduce avoidable harm while respecting people's choices.
“People had their risks assessed, monitored and regularly reviewed.” from the report
Staff training
Staff received induction, ongoing training and supervision. Training included support for specific health needs.
“People received care from staff that had completed an induction and had on-going training and support which enabled them to carry out their roles effectively.” from the report
Personalised care
Care plans reflected people's lifestyles, cultural and spiritual needs, communication methods and personal goals. People were involved in reviews and decisions.
“People had person centred care plans that detailed their care needs and choices, were reflective of lifestyle choices, cultural and spiritual needs and understood by the staff team.” from the report
Open leadership
Inspectors found supportive teamwork and effective quality checks. Staff and families had opportunities to give feedback and be involved.
“Quality assurance systems and processes were multi-layered and effective at improving quality and performance.” from the report
Topical cream records
needs fixingThe person who applied a topical cream did not always record its administration. Inspectors said this did not meet best practice and recommended that practice be updated.
“Recording the administration of topical creams did not meet best practice guidance as the care worker who applied cream was not always the person who recorded it had been administered.” from the report
Medicine storage checks
needs fixingChecks that medicine storage areas were at a safe temperature were carried out intermittently rather than every day. Inspectors recommended action to improve this.
“Checks to ensure medicine storage was at a safe temperature had been carried out intermittently rather than daily.” from the report
- 01What changes have you made to ensure the person who applies a topical cream records it themselves?
- 02How are medicine storage temperatures now checked and recorded each day?
- 03How will you make sure my relative's care plan is reviewed when their needs or personal goals change?
- 04How will my relative be supported to keep in touch with family, attend activities and maintain their independence?
- 05How do you monitor staffing levels if there are staff absences or recruitment difficulties?
This was an unannounced planned inspection after an ownership change and covered all five key questions, including infection prevention and control under Safe. This explanation was written from the published report of 14 January 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
James Burns House was inspected but not rated; inspectors found strong infection control measures, with a gap in workforce planning guidance.
This was a targeted inspection during the coronavirus pandemic. Inspectors checked infection prevention and control measures, including visiting, testing, personal protective equipment, admissions and hygiene.
They were assured that the home was preventing infections. There had been no reported Covid-19 cases among residents during the pandemic. Visiting, social distancing, testing, protective equipment and outbreak planning were in place.
The home was not given a quality rating. The inspection was limited to infection prevention and control, so it does not provide ratings for caring, effective, responsive or well-led care.
No reported Covid-19 cases
The report says there had been no Covid-19 cases among people living at the home throughout the pandemic.
“The service had not had any cases of Covid-19 in people using the service throughout the pandemic.” from the report
Protective equipment
Staff had procedures for putting on, removing and disposing of protective equipment. The levels used followed current guidance.
“Procedures were in place for staff to safely don/doff personal protective equipment (PPE) and dispose of it after each use.” from the report
Visiting arrangements
The home had infection controls at the entrance and offered video and telephone contact when visits could not take place in person.
“The service had alternative arrangements to visiting in person in place. This included video and telephone calls at any time.” from the report
Workforce planning guidance
needs fixingThe home was not aware of pandemic workforce planning guidance. After the inspection, it contacted the local clinical commissioning group, obtained assurances from agencies about Covid-19 testing and was signposted to best practice.
“However, the service was not aware of guidance on workforce planning during the pandemic.” from the report
- 01What workforce planning process is now used if agency staff are needed during an infection outbreak?
- 02How do you check that agency staff have completed the required Covid-19 testing?
- 03What are the current arrangements for visits and alternative contact with relatives?
- 04How often are residents and staff tested now, and what happens after a positive result?
- 05When was the infection prevention and control policy last reviewed?
This was a targeted inspection of infection prevention and control during the coronavirus pandemic; the service and Safe question were inspected but not rated, and the other areas were not assessed. This explanation was written from the published report of 7 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 James Burns House
3 rated inspections over 5 years: the service has held its Good rating throughout.
- January 2022Goodcurrent ratingSafe: GoodEffective: GoodCaring: GoodResponsive: GoodWell-led: Good
- April 2021Inspected but not ratedSafe: Inspected but not rated
- June 2019Goodstayed GoodSafe: GoodEffective: GoodCaring: GoodResponsive: GoodWell-led: Good
- December 2016GoodSafe: GoodEffective: GoodCaring: GoodResponsive: GoodWell-led: Good
- August 2019
Registered with the Care Quality Commission on 6 August 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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