Villa Scalabrini

Updated 3 February 2022

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.

As part of CQC’s response to care homes with outbreaks of COVID-19, we are conducting reviews to ensure that the Infection Prevention and Control (IPC) practice is safe and that services are compliant with IPC measures. This was a targeted inspection looking at the IPC practices the provider has in place. We also asked the provider about any staffing pressures the service was experiencing and whether this was having an impact on the service.

This inspection took place on 24 January 2022 and was unannounced. We gave the service no notice of the inspection.

Updated 3 February 2022

About the service

Villa Scalabrini is a residential care home. It provides residential care for up to 49 older people. At the time of our inspection 49 people were accommodated at the home.

The home is a purpose built in the style of a small village, originally for the Italian community and now welcoming people from all cultures, nationalities and religions. The home was set in attractive gardens, which included a 'memorial garden'. People also had access to an enclosed garden with many tropical birds and a vegetable garden where people could enjoy the outside space.

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

People, relatives and friends all spoke very highly of the care received at Villa Scalabrini. People were at the heart of the home and everything centred around giving them an extraordinary quality of life. People were treated as individuals in a culture that was values based and nothing was ever too much trouble. People and their families spoke about a compassionate staff group, we repeatedly heard people describing the home and staff as outstanding, excellent, kind, compassionate and thoughtful.

There was a strong spiritual ethos at the service and an appreciation for what had been achieved at Villa Scalabrini. The 'Villa' (as people referred to the home) had a happy feel. The ambience was felt as soon as you entered; lots of happy, busy people going about their daily business. People had a purpose, a mission, and staff were on hand to support people to achieve the best possible quality of life.

People told us it was a family home and family members confirmed they were warmly welcomed involved and all were delighted that people had thrived so well since coming to live at the 'Villa'. People had lived much longer than expected with many people well over 100 years old. Family told us they believed this was because of the excellent care people received at the 'Villa'. People and their relatives were fully involved in all aspect of their lives and how they choose to live them. This had a positive impact on people’s psychological and physical health and wellbeing. It also empowered people and gave them control and independence.

People felt safe. Staff were well trained and knew how to report any concerns under the safeguarding procedure. Staff were aware of how to elevate concerns if required. Staff knew how to keep people safe and mitigate any identified risks to people. Staff were recruited through a robust procedure. There were enough staff employed to support people in a timely way. People received their medicines safely.

People were encouraged and 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 had consented to all care and support. Staff were aware of the mental capacity assessments process and depravation of liberty safeguards (DoLs).

People’s individual needs were assessed and reviewed monthly. This helped to ensure all information was current and the care was effective. People's dietary needs were well catered for including any specialist requirements. If any concerns were noted referrals were made to appropriate professionals.

People were engaged fully in a complete and varied range of activities organised around people’s individuals’ abilities, interests and hobbies. External events were regularly organised, and the community was fully involved and attended events organised at the home or within the grounds.

People’s care and support plans were very personalised with a great deal of detail. Information about people’s lives, history family, likes, dislikes and preferences were all recorded to help the staff really get to know the person well.

The service had a complaints procedure in place. People and their relatives told us they never had to complain as they could bring anything to the staff’s attention and it would be addressed. We saw that many compliments had been received.

The provider, registered manager and staff worked professionally with other agencies and organisations to help ensure people received holistic and seamless care which achieved positive outcomes for them.

Quality assurance systems were in place for all aspects of the service. Audits were completed regularly and were reviewed to ensure quality was always a priority. The ethos related to the values and passion of all the management and staff team. Staff were accountable and had individual roles and responsibilities which they took very seriously.

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 09 August 2017).

Why we inspected

This was a planned inspection based on the previous rating.

Follow up

We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service until we return to visit as per our re-inspection programme. If we receive any concerning information we may inspect sooner.