About the service: Bridge House Care Home is a nursing and residential care home that was providing personal and nursing care to 23 older people at the time of the inspection.

People’s experience of using this service:

People were not safe and did not receive support when they requested it. The call bell system had not worked for a long time so when people tried to use their buzzer staff did not respond. Risks to individuals were not assessed and appropriately managed. Medicines were not managed safely. Recruitment practices were not robust and did not ensure staff were suitable to work at Bridge House Care Home. Lessons were not learned when things went wrong.

People were not supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff did not support them in the least restrictive way possible; the policies and systems in the service did not support this practice. Training and supervision was variable which meant staff were not equipped with the relevant knowledge and skills. People’s experience of the meals varied. Everyone enjoyed breakfast and most enjoyed lunch; tea-time meals were repetitive. Staff did not understand how to meet people’s specialist dietary requirements. Systems were in place to support people with their health needs. People lived in a very pleasant environment. All areas were maintained and decorated to a very high standard.

Most people felt well cared for. However, some people experienced poor care and staff did not always respect people’s privacy, dignity and confidentiality. People were supported to maintain relationships with family and friends; visitors were welcomed.

People’s care needs were not identified, recorded, and highlighted in support plans. Some staff did not know how to use the electronic care recording systems and information about people was recorded incorrectly. The provider had a procedure for investigating complaints but this was not always followed in practice.

The provider's quality management systems were not effective and did not identify areas where the service had to improve. The provider and registered manager did not demonstrate they understood their responsibilities and accountability. People who used the service, relatives and staff had opportunity to share their views and put forward ideas. However, these were not always acted upon.

For more details, please see the full report which is on the CQC website at www.cqc.org.uk

Rating at last inspection: This is the first inspection.

Why we inspected: This was a planned inspection based on the recommended inspection timescales.

Follow up: We referred our concerns to the local safeguarding authority and asked the provider to send us evidence of improvements and action points. They voluntarily suspended admissions to the service. This was used when decisions were made about our regulatory response.

The overall rating for this service is ‘Inadequate’ and the service is therefore in ‘special measures’. Services in special measures will be kept under review and, if we have not taken immediate action to propose to cancel the provider’s registration of the service, it will be inspected again within six months. The expectation is that providers found to have been providing inadequate care should have made significant improvements within this timeframe.

If not enough improvement is made within this timeframe, we will take action in line with our enforcement procedures to begin the process of preventing the provider from operating this service. This will lead to cancelling their registration or to varying the terms of their registration within six months if they do not improve.

For adult social care services, the maximum time for being in special measures will usually be no more than 12 months. If the service has demonstrated improvements when we inspect it and it is no longer rated as inadequate for any of the five key questions it will no longer be in special measures.”

Full information about CQC’s regulat