The Meadow

The Meadow is a residential care home providing personal care to up to 40 people. The service provides support to older adults, most of whom are living with dementia. At the time of our inspection there were 39 people using the service. The home accommodates 40 people in one adapted building.

People’s experience of the service and what we found:

The service was very responsive to people's needs. People were at the heart of everything they did. The service provided people with an range of stimulating activities covering both physical and mental health. The staff team were very passionate about providing quality care.

There was an emphasis on people's wellbeing. People's end of life wishes was respected by a very well-trained compassionate team. The provider had a clear complaints process in place. Everyone we spoke with knew how to make a complaint. People’s care plans were recorded in a personalised way, peoples likes and preferences were recorded.

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.

People and relatives told us they felt safe living at the home. Staff were recruited safely. People's medicines were managed safely, by well trained and competent staff. The home was clean and had a nice warm and friendly atmosphere. Staff understood their responsibilities under safeguarding and how to prevent abuse.

The leadership team and staff strived for high standards of care. Staff provided quality care. The service promoted an open culture, which was inclusive and empowering. Everyone we spoke with told us the management team were approachable and got things done. Robust governance systems and processes were in place to ensure all aspects of care delivery was monitored and checked for quality, driving forward improvements. The provider had several examples of working in partnership with other key organisations, setting up key projects and offering good training for staff about end-of-life 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 Good (published 6 October 2017).

Why we inspected

We undertook a focused inspection to review the key questions of safe, responsive, and well-led only. For those key question not inspected, we used the ratings awarded at the last inspection to calculate the overall rating.

Follow Up

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

At the last inspection, the service was rated Good.

At this inspection we found the service remained Good.

People told us they felt safe living at the service. The service appropriately assessed and mitigated risks involved in supporting people and provided safe care. Staff had a good understanding of risks to people and how to safeguard people against abuse and poor care. There were sufficient staff to meet people’s individual needs, and people and staff were happy with the staffing levels. The service followed safe medicines management, accurate medicines administration records and met infection prevention control and health and safety requirements.

Safe recruitment procedures were being followed to ensure people were supported by staff who were suitably vetted before starting work. Staff received regular support and supervision and relevant training to enable them to do their jobs effectively. People were happy with the food, and their nutrition and hydration needs were met.

The service operated within the legal framework of the Mental Capacity Act 2005 (MCA) and the Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS).

People received personalised care from staff who were aware of their likes and dislikes, respected their privacy and treated them with dignity. Staff supported people to remain as independent as they could by encouraging them to carry out any activities they were able to.

People’s cultural, religious and spiritual needs were acknowledged and supported when required. The registered manager updated staff on people’s changing needs and were responsive to those needs and recorded them in their care plans. People’s care plans were person-centred and included information on their life stories, individual needs and preferences.

The service maintained robust and effective systems and processes, and carried out regular monitoring checks and audits to identify gaps and areas of improvement to ensure the quality and safety of the service delivery.

Further information is in the detailed findings below.

When we spoke with people who were living at The Meadow, or their relatives, they were positive about their experiences. They told us that they liked living at the home and felt it met their needs. They told us they liked the food and that the staff were nice. The following are examples of some of the comments we received:

'I think people who came here would find it to be very good.'

'It has a warm friendly atmosphere.'

'They treat everyone like a special case.'

We observed care and saw staff treating people in a caring and respectful manner.

We found that people's privacy, dignity and independence were respected.

People experienced care, treatment and support that met their needs and protected their rights.

People were protected from the risks of inadequate nutrition and dehydration.

People were protected against the risks associated with medicines because the provider had appropriate arrangements in place to manage medicines.

People were cared for by staff who were supported to deliver care and treatment safely and to an appropriate standard.

The provider had an effective system to regularly assess and monitor the quality of service that people receive.

All of the people we spoke with were positive about their experience of living at the home. They told us they felt safe and staff attended to their needs. They spoke highly of the manager. They said the manager was caring and "knew" each person's needs. All of the people we spoke with told us the staff were caring, friendly and ready to help. However, some people using the service felt some night care staff were not ready to respond to their needs.

We observed that the activities provided were stimulating with many of people using the service taking part in group and individual leisure and educational sessions. People spoke highly of the activities co-ordinator.

People using the service told us the food provided at the home was nutritious and met their dietary and cultural needs. We saw people had water for drinking in their bedrooms and there were water dispensers in the communal areas. We noted staff were present to support people who needed help with their meals.