CQC report explained · a nursing home
What the CQC found at Verwood House Care Home
Rated Good: inspectors found the home performing well and meeting their expectations.
- Safe?
- Good
- People were protected from avoidable harm, with suitable risk assessments, enough staff, safe medicine systems and infection-control measures. Inspectors found accessible razor blades and some medicine recording and storage issues, which the home said it would correct.
- Effective?
- No published rating
- This area was not inspected during this focused visit. The previous rating was used in calculating the overall rating.
- Caring?
- No published rating
- This area was not inspected during this focused visit. The previous rating was used in calculating the overall rating.
- Responsive?
- No published rating
- This area was not inspected during this focused visit. The previous rating was used in calculating the overall rating.
- Well-led?
- Good
- The home had clearer roles, a positive culture and systems for checking care quality. Audits identified issues and records showed action was taken to make improvements.
What inspectors found, December 2020
Verwood House Care Home was rated Good; inspectors found safe, personalised care and better management, with a few safety checks needing attention.
This was an unannounced focused inspection. Inspectors checked Safe and Well-led after concerns about care and staffing. They visited between 24 November and 7 December 2020, spoke with relatives and staff, and reviewed care, medicine, staffing and management records.
Inspectors found people were safe, staff knew their needs, medicines were generally managed properly, and there were enough staff. The home was clean and had measures in place to manage Covid-19 risks.
Some issues were found during the visit. Razor blades were accessible in some bathrooms, some medicine opening dates were missing, and one reference was not from a new worker's most recent employer. The home took immediate action on these points.
The overall rating changed from Requires Improvement to Good. A previous breach about checking and improving quality and safety had been fully addressed. The ratings for Caring, Effective and Responsive were not inspected during this visit and were carried over from an earlier comprehensive inspection.
Personalised care
Staff knew people well and understood their individual needs and risks. Care plans were reviewed when people's needs changed.
“Staff knew people very well, cared about them and understood their care and support needs as well as the risks people faced.” from the report
Staffing and training
Inspectors found enough staff to meet people's needs. Staff had induction and training covering areas such as moving and assisting, first aid and fire awareness.
“Staff received induction and training to ensure they could work safely and effectively.” from the report
Clean and prepared home
The home had recently been refurbished and was clean and well maintained. Inspectors were assured about its infection-control arrangements during the pandemic.
“The home was clean and well maintained throughout and appropriate measures had been put in place to manage the risks associated with Covid-19.” from the report
Quality monitoring
The home had developed audits and checks covering areas such as infection control, accidents and health and safety. Inspectors found that action was taken when problems were identified.
“There were numerous audits and checks carried out. Information from these was analysed and where any issues or concerns had been identified, action had been taken to address these.” from the report
Accessible razor blades
seriousRazor blades had been left in some en-suite bathrooms, including bathrooms that people unable to recognise the danger could access. The manager acted immediately and said future checks would be carried out.
“Razor blades had been left out in some en-suite bathrooms including those where people, who lacked capacity to recognise the risks, could access them.” from the report
Recruitment references
needs fixingIn one case, a reference was not from the applicant's most recent employer. The manager obtained an additional reference and said this would be checked for new staff in future.
“In one example we found that references had been obtained but were not from the applicant's most recent employer.” from the report
Medicine records and storage
needs fixingTwo topical medicines did not show when they had been opened, and some topical medicines were not stored securely. Corrective action was taken immediately.
“Two topical medicines did not have a record of the date they were opened.” from the report
- 01What checks are now in place to make sure razors and other hazards cannot be reached by people who may not recognise the risks?
- 02How do you record the opening dates of topical medicines and check that they are stored securely?
- 03How do you make sure references for new staff come from their most recent employer?
- 04What were the Caring, Effective and Responsive ratings from the previous comprehensive inspection, and when will these areas next be reviewed?
- 05How do your audits show that problems are corrected and remain corrected?
This was a focused inspection of Safe and Well-led only; the ratings for Effective, Caring and Responsive were carried over from the previous comprehensive inspection. This explanation was written from the published report of 19 December 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.
Every inspection of Verwood House Care Home
Each visit the CQC has published, newest first, back to the day the home was registered.
- December 2020Goodcurrent ratingSafe: GoodEffective: No published ratingCaring: No published ratingResponsive: No published ratingWell-led: Good
- June 2019
Registered with the Care Quality Commission on 7 June 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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15 live-in carers within about an hour of Dorset
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 £1,040 to £1,340 a week. 11 can care for a couple. 10 years' experience on average.
“Even when things get a bit chaotic (as they sometimes do!), you’ve handled it with patience and a sense of humour — which is gold.”
“Nina was patient, focussed on my aunt's physical well-being, and unfazed by what at the time was a new and uncertain situation”
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.