Background to this inspection
Updated
18 July 2018
We carried out this inspection under Section 60 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 as part of our regulatory functions. This inspection was planned to check whether the provider is meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Health and Social Care Act 2008, to look at the overall quality of the service, and to provide a rating for the service under the Care Act 2014.
The inspection took place on 16 and 17 May 2018. Our visit on 16 May 2018 was unannounced and focused on speaking to people who lived in the home, their visitors and the staff on duty. We also observed how the staff interacted with people and looked at care records for four people and medication storage and records. We arranged to return to the home on 17 May 2018 to look at records related the management of the service.
The inspection was carried out by one adult social care inspector.
There were 22 people living in the home when we carried out our inspection. We spoke with 11 people who lived in the home, three visitors to the home, three members of the care team, three ancillary staff, the registered manager, care manager and assistant manager of the home.
During the inspection we looked at care records for four people and recruitment and training records for four staff. We also looked at records relating to how the registered manager assessed the quality and safety of the service.
Before the inspection, the registered manager completed a Provider Information Return (PIR). This is a form that asks for key information about the service, what the service does well and improvements they plan to make. We reviewed the information we held about the service, including the information in the PIR, before we visited the home. We also contacted local health and social care commissioning teams to gather their views of the service.
Updated
18 July 2018
We carried out this unannounced inspection on 16 and 17 May 2018.
Our last comprehensive inspection of this service was in November 2016. At that inspection we assessed that the provider was meeting legal requirements. However, we found, although people were safe, improvements were needed to the assessment and recording of risks and to the use and auditing of medicines used in the home. We also found that people gave consent to any support they received but the processes to obtain and record consent needed to be improved. Although the provider had systems to assess the quality of the service these had not identified areas where the service required further improvement. We made recommendations that the provider took advice to improve these areas. We checked these areas at this inspection in May 2018 and found that the provider had taken action to address these issues.
Abbotsfield Residential Care Home is a ‘care home’. People in care homes receive accommodation and nursing or personal care as single package under one contractual agreement. CQC regulates both the premises and the care provided, and both were looked at during this inspection.
The home provides accommodation and personal care for up to 26 older people and people who have dementia. At the time of our inspection there were 22 people living in the home.
The home is a large period property, set in its own grounds, that has been adapted for its present use. There is a main stair lift and two smaller chair lifts linking the accommodation on the ground and first floor of the property. The home has a range of equipment to assist people who live there.
There was a registered manager employed. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission to manage the service. Like registered providers, they are ‘registered persons’. Registered persons have legal responsibility for meeting the requirements in the Health and Social Care Act 2008 and associated Regulations about how the service is run.
People told us this was a good service and said they would recommend it. The staff knew people well and treated people with kindness and respect. People were asked for their views and action was taken in response to their comments.
People received the support they required to maintain their mental and physical health. The registered manager worked with appropriate services to ensure people continued to receive the support they required if their needs changed and when they were approaching the end of life.
People were safe and protected from abuse. The staff knew how to identify and report abuse and were confident to do so.
There were enough staff to provide the support people required. Safe systems were used when new staff were employed to check they were suitable to work in the service. The staff completed a range of training to give them the skills and knowledge to provide people’s support.
People’s rights were respected. People were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff supported them in the least restrictive way possible; the policies and systems in the service supported this practice.
People were provided with meals and drinks they enjoyed. They had been asked for their views about the meals provided and menus had been changed in response to their feedback.
Care was planned and delivered to meet people’s needs.
Visitors were made welcome in the home and people could see their friends and families as they wished.
The registered manager had a procedure for receiving and responding to complaints about the service. Information about how people could complain and agencies independent of the service that people could contact were displayed in the home.
There were arrangements in place to ensure the effective management of the home. People knew the registered manager and members of the management team and were confident approaching them as they needed. The registered manager and members of the management team carried out checks on the service to ensure people received a good quality of service.
The registered manager had informed us of significant incidents that had occurred in the home. This meant we could check appropriate actions had been taken.