The Old Vicarage Residential Care Home

Updated 28 January 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 Care Act 2014.

Inspection team

The inspection was completed by 3 inspectors on the first day and 1 inspector on the second day.

Service and service type

The Old Vicarage Residential Care Home is a 'care home'. People in care homes receive accommodation and nursing or personal care as a single package under one contractual agreement. CQC regulates both the

premises and the care provided, and both were looked at during this inspection.

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

The inspection was unannounced.

What we did before inspection

We reviewed information we had received about the service since the last inspection. We sought feedback from the local authority and professionals who work with the service.

Due to technical problems, the provider was not able to complete a Provider Information Return (PIR). A PIR is information providers send us to give some key information about the service, what the service does well and improvements they plan to make.

During the inspection

We spoke with 2 people who used the service, and 1 relative about their experience of the care provided. We spoke with the registered manager, 8 members of staff including care, housekeeping and maintenance staff and 2 visiting health professionals.

We looked around the environment to review the facilities available for people and the cleanliness of the service.

We reviewed a range of records. This included 4 people's care records, and multiple medication records. We looked at 2 staff files in relation to recruitment, and a variety of records relating to the management of the service, including safeguarding and quality monitoring.

Updated 28 January 2023

About the service

The Old Vicarage Residential Care Home is registered to provide personal care and accommodation to 33 people who may be living with a sensory impairment, physical disability or dementia. At the time of the inspection 26 people were using the service.

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

The provider had actively worked to make improvements in the service to improve people's experiences, but further time was required to ensure the level of governance and oversight that had been implemented could embed and become fully effective.

Infection prevention and control processes in relation to practice and the environment did not always support best practice guidance and required additional work.

People living at The Old Vicarage felt well cared for. We received positive feedback from people, staff, relatives and health professionals about the service.

Staff were recruited and deployed safely and demonstrated an understanding of the principles of keeping people safe.

Risks to people were assessed and managed. People received their medicines as prescribed.

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 supported this practice.

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

Rating at last inspection and update

The last rating for this service was requires improvement (published 30 March 2021) and there were breaches of a regulation. The provider completed an action plan after the last inspection to show what they would do and by when to improve. At this inspection we found improvements had been made and the provider was no longer in breach of regulation.

At our last inspection we recommended the provider review their medication processes to ensure they are followed correctly, and accurate records are kept. At this inspection we found the provider had made improvements.

Why we inspected

We carried out an announced focused inspection of this service on 19 and 21 January 2021. Breaches of a legal requirement were found. The provider completed an action plan after the last inspection to show what they would do and by when to improve good governance.

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.

The overall rating for the service is good. Please see the safe and well-led sections of this full report.

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.

You can read the report from our last inspection, by selecting the 'all reports' link for The Old Vicarage Residential Care Home on our website at www.cqc.org.uk

Recommendations

We have made a recommendation about infection prevention and control practice.

Follow up

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