Bluebell Manor

The following is CQC's published account of its assessment, published 20 January 2025. References to “we” mean CQC. It describes findings at that time.

Bluebell Manor is a care home providing personal and nursing care for up to 67 people, some of whom are living with dementia. At the time of the inspection there were 39 people living at the home. There are three units, Millview providing residential care, Bluebell providing nursing care as an intermediate care unit, and Wansbeck providing dementia care. We spoke to 9 people, 5 relatives and 3 healthcare partners. We spoke to 13 staff members including the home manager, clinical compliance manager, nominated individual, care staff and housekeepers. We carried out our onsite inspection on 1 August and 6 August 2024. Inspection activity started on 1 August 2024 and ended on 13 August 2024. The inspection was unannounced, and this was the first inspection of a newly registered service. The inspection was prompted by concerns received relating to the culture and staffing of the service. We found the service’s culture was not as good as it could be. Permanent staff knew people well however the high use of agency staff was impacting the care people received. Medicines were not always managed safely, when required medicines were not always recorded in line with best practice. Some care plans for people living with diabetes and Parkinson's were not up to date or fully completed. Lessons had been learned from accidents, incidents and safeguarding incidents, and were shared with staff. Care pathways, assessments and transitions were managed well. People felt safe at the service, however they felt staff were too rushed and were not able to give the best care they could. Consent was sought when providing care, best interest decisions and mental capacity assessments were in place when needed. People’s independence was supported. Staff felt able to speak up to some managers however, they said little action was taken around the most important problems. There were governance systems in place to identify issues however, outcomes and actions taken were not always clear.