Archived: Meadowbrook Manor

Updated 11 July 2023

The inspection

We carried out this inspection under Section 60 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (the Act) as part of our regulatory functions. We checked whether the provider was meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Act. We looked at the overall quality of the service and provided a rating for the service under the Health and Social Care Act 2008.

Inspection team

The inspection was carried out by 2 inspectors and an Expert by Experience. An Expert by Experience is a person who has personal experience of using or caring for someone who uses this type of care service.

Service and service type

Meadowbrook Manor is a ‘care home’. People in care homes receive accommodation and nursing and/or personal care as a single package under one contractual agreement dependent on their registration with us. Meadowbrook Manor is a care home without nursing care. CQC regulates both the premises and the care provided, and both were looked at during this inspection.

Registered Manager

This provider is required to have a registered manager to oversee the delivery of regulated activities at this location. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission to manage the service. Registered managers and providers are legally responsible for how the service is run, for the quality and safety of the care provided and compliance with regulations.

At the time of our inspection there was a registered manager in post.

Notice of inspection

This inspection was unannounced.

What we did before the inspection

We reviewed information we had received about the service since the last inspection. We sought feedback from the local authority and Healthwatch. Healthwatch is an independent consumer champion that gathers and represents the views of the public about health and social care services in England. We used information gathered as part of monitoring activity that took place on 23 June 2022 to help plan the inspection and inform our judgements. We used the information the provider sent us in the provider information return (PIR). This is information providers are required to send us annually with key information about their service, what they do well, and improvements they plan to make. We used all this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection

We spent time in communal areas observing the care and support provided by staff. We spoke with 7 people who used the service, 5 relatives, a visiting health professional and 8 members of staff including care workers, senior care worker, assistant manager, registered manager and responsible individual. The responsible individual is responsible for supervising the management of the service.

We reviewed a range of records. This included 4 people's care records and multiple people's medicine records. We reviewed 3 staff recruitment files and a variety of records relating to the management of the service.

Updated 11 July 2023

About the service

Meadowbrook Manor is a residential care home providing personal care to older people. Meadowbrook Manor accommodates 31 people in one adapted building. At the time of our inspection there were 23 people using the service.

People’s experience of using this service and what we found

Recruitment checks were carried out by the management team, but this was not always done robustly. People were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff supported them in the least restrictive way possible and in their best interests; the policies and systems in the service did not always support this practice. Risks associated with people’s care were managed safely and systems were in place for learning lessons when things go wrong. Most aspects of people's medicines were well managed. People told us there were always enough staff to give them the care they needed and they knew the staff who cared for them well. They also told us they felt safe. The provider followed safe infection, prevention and control procedures. The service had systems in place to safeguard people from abuse.

People received high quality person-centred care. Feedback about the standard of care, leadership and quality of staff was consistently positive. Staff felt valued and were proud to work at Meadowbrook Manor. Quality assurance was usually effective although some areas of risk, such as gaps in the recruitment process, had not been picked up through the provider’s system. The registered manager confirmed the provider was introducing additional governance support. Records showed people’s care was planned and reviewed. The service worked effectively with other professionals to support joined-up care.

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

Rating at last inspection

The last rating for this service was requires improvement (published 11 September 2020). At this inspection we found improvements had been made and the provider was no longer in breach of regulations.

Why we inspected

We carried out an inspection of this service between 11 and 17 August 2020. A breach of legal requirements was found. The provider completed an action plan after the last inspection to show what they would do and by when to improve governance arrangements. We undertook this focused inspection to check they had followed their action plan and to confirm they now met legal requirements.

This report only covers our findings in relation to the key questions safe and well-led which contain those requirements. For those key questions not inspected, we used the ratings awarded at the last inspection to calculate the overall rating. The overall rating for the service has changed from requires improvement to good. This is based on the findings at this inspection.

You can read the report from our last comprehensive inspection, by selecting the ‘all reports’ link for Meadowbrook Manor on our website at www.cqc.org.uk.

We looked at infection prevention and control measures under the Safe key question. We look at this in all care home inspections even if no concerns or risks have been identified. This is to provide assurance that the service can respond to COVID-19 and other infection outbreaks effectively.

Follow up

We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service, which will help inform when we next inspect.