CQC report explained · a nursing home
What the CQC found at Polebrook Nursing Home
Rated Good: inspectors found the home performing well and meeting their expectations.
- Safe?
- Good
- People were protected from avoidable harm, risks were assessed and there were enough safely recruited staff. Infection control was robust, but guidance for some variable-dose medicines did not always explain when to give the lower or higher dose.
- Effective?
- Good
- This key question was not inspected during this visit. Its rating carried over from the previous inspection.
- Caring?
- Good
- This key question was not inspected during this visit. Its rating carried over from the previous inspection.
- Responsive?
- Good
- This key question was not inspected during this visit. Its rating carried over from the previous inspection.
- Well-led?
- Good
- The home was well managed, with positive views from people, relatives and staff. Audits, feedback systems and partnership working were used to monitor and improve care.
What inspectors found, September 2023
Polebrook Nursing Home was rated Good; inspectors found safe, caring management, with a small medicines guidance issue needing attention.
Inspectors visited on 23 August 2023 without giving notice. They spoke with people living in the home, relatives and staff, and reviewed care records, medicines records, recruitment files and management records.
The home was rated Good overall. Inspectors found enough suitable staff, safe recruitment, good infection control and systems to manage risks, safeguarding, medicines and accidents.
People, relatives and staff spoke positively about the management. The home used audits, feedback and partnership working to monitor care and make improvements.
This inspection looked at Safe and Well-led only. The other key question ratings and the overall rating carried forward from the previous inspection, published in 2018.
Enough staff
Inspectors found enough skilled staff to meet people's needs without rushing care. Staff were deployed in an organised way and spent time with people individually.
“Our observations confirmed there were sufficient staff to meet people's needs in a timely manner.” from the report
Risk and infection control
Risks such as falls and pressure sores were assessed and managed. Inspectors were assured that infection prevention measures, hygiene practices and protective equipment were effective.
“Infection control measures were robustly followed, and staff had access to sufficient PPE.” from the report
Positive leadership
People, relatives and staff expressed confidence in the management. Staff described the manager as open and approachable.
“People, relatives, and staff consistently expressed great confidence in how the service was managed.” from the report
Listening and improving
The home gathered feedback and took action in response. Inspectors also found systems for learning from accidents and incidents.
“We saw that actions had been taken following feedback from people and relatives.” from the report
Variable-dose medicines guidance
needs fixingGuidance for some medicines prescribed at a variable dose did not always explain when staff should give the lower or higher dose. The manager acted immediately and began reviewing the guidance with a clinical prescriber.
“Where a variable dose had been prescribed (for example take 1-2 tablets) the guidance did not always include when to give the lower dose and when to give the higher does.” from the report
- 01What was the outcome of the review of guidance for variable-dose medicines?
- 02How do you now check that staff know when to give the lower or higher dose of a variable medicine?
- 03What were the ratings for Effective, Caring and Responsive at the previous inspection?
- 04How are people's individual care preferences recorded and reviewed?
- 05How do you use feedback from residents and relatives to make changes?
This was a focused inspection of Safe and Well-led, including infection prevention and control; Effective, Caring and Responsive were not inspected and their ratings carried over from the previous inspection. This explanation was written from the published report of 5 September 2023 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, February 2022
Inspected but not rated; inspectors found infection control measures were in place during the COVID-19 outbreak response.
This was a targeted, announced inspection on 7 February 2022. Inspectors focused on infection prevention and control, including COVID-19 precautions, and asked about staffing pressures.
The inspectors were assured that the home was managing infection risks. This included testing, vaccination requirements, personal protective equipment, hand hygiene, cleaning, visitor arrangements and safe admissions.
The home used isolation and grouping of people during outbreaks, following advice from the healthcare protection team. Staff had infection control training and there were sufficient supplies of protective equipment.
The service was inspected but not rated. This report does not give a current rating for the home's overall quality or for the other four questions.
Infection control training
Staff had infection prevention and control training and followed the procedures checked by inspectors.
“Staff received infection prevention and control (IPC) training and followed robust IPC procedures.” from the report
Protective equipment
Protective equipment was used safely and was available throughout the home in sufficient supply.
“PPE stations were available throughout the service and there were sufficient stocks of PPE available.” from the report
Clean environment
The environment was clean, with regular cleaning and disinfection of frequently touched surfaces.
“The environment was clean and hygienic, staff followed cleaning schedules which included regular cleaning and disinfection of high touch points” from the report
Outbreak management
Outbreaks were managed using isolation and grouping arrangements, following guidance and advice from the healthcare protection team.
“COVID-19 outbreaks followed current guidance and advice from the healthcare protection team (HPT) to contain and manage outbreaks.” from the report
Inspectors raised no specific concerns in this report.
- 01What are your current arrangements for COVID-19 testing and managing outbreaks?
- 02How do you manage staffing pressures when staff are absent because of COVID-19?
- 03How are visitors currently supported to follow infection prevention and control procedures?
- 04Are there any newer CQC inspections or ratings since this targeted inspection?
- 05How do you make sure cleaning of high-touch points is completed and checked?
This was a targeted inspection of infection prevention and control and COVID-19-related staffing pressures; the service was inspected but not rated and the other areas were not assessed. This explanation was written from the published report of 15 February 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 Polebrook Nursing Home
2 rated inspections over 5 years: the service has held its Good rating throughout.
- September 2023Goodcurrent ratingSafe: GoodEffective: GoodCaring: GoodResponsive: GoodWell-led: Good
- February 2022Inspected but not ratedSafe: Inspected but not rated
- October 2018GoodSafe: GoodWell-led: Good
- October 2017
Registered with the Care Quality Commission on 5 October 2017.
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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89 live-in carers within about an hour of North Northamptonshire
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