The safety of our treasured residents and team is our absolute priority. At present, our care home regulator, The Care Quality Commission, are continuing to monitor and engage with care providers to maintain standards and promote the delivery of best practice.
CARE QUALITY COMMISSION ASSESSMENT OF CARE DURING COVID-19
We are pleased to share the positive findings of their two reports into the safety and effectiveness of care at Acorn Court. The reports, dated 24th August 2020 and 18th November 2020, inspected four aspects of infection control following a telephone interview and subsequent inspection visit on 27th October 2020:
• Safe Care and Treatment
• Staffing arrangements
• Protection from Abuse
• Assurance Processes, Monitoring and Risk Management
CONSISTENT AND EFFECTIVE INFECTION CONTROL AND PREVENTION
The Care Quality Commission was assured that Acorn Court was:
• Preventing visitors from catching and spreading infections
• Meeting shielding and social distancing rules
• Admitting people safely to our service
• Using PPE effectively and safely
• Accessing testing for people using the service and staff
• Promoting safety through the layout and hygiene practices of the premises
• And, had an up-to-date infection prevention and control policy
THEY FOUND THE FOLLOWING EXAMPLES OF GOOD PRACTICE:
People were supported to have socially-distanced visits from their relatives through a pre-booked timed system. Visits took place in designated areas of the home and were supported by care staff. Track and trace systems were in place.
Support was offered with video calling for people to maintain links with relatives who could not visit. This was offered throughout the day to support emotional wellbeing of people who used the service.
Visitors to the service were provided with personal protective equipment.
Staff and residents were supported with regular testing for COVID-19.
Staff were trained in Infection Prevention Control and in using PPE appropriately.
Staff were supported with staggered regular breaks to maintain social distancing. There were risk assessments in place for staff and residents who fell into high-risk groups.
The deputy manager had planned how to manage an outbreak of COVID-19 in the home, including zoning of rooms and areas.
The Call Summary Record stated that we are managing the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic. Specifically:
• There were systems to assess and respond to risks regarding infection prevention and control, including those associated with COVID-19.
• Essential equipment, such as personal protective equipment, was available in sufficient quantities to help us manage the impact of COVID-19.
• We had taken steps to ensure the environment was as effective as possible in containing an outbreak of COVID-19.
• There were enough suitably skilled staff to provide people with safe care in a respectful and dignified way during the COVID-19 pandemic.
• People were being safeguarded from abuse, harassment and discrimination.
• There were effective systems to monitor the overall quality and safety of care being provided at the service during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The full Inspection Report and the Call Summary Record are available to download.
