Ann Challis

Updated 10 March 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 16 February 2022 and was announced. We gave the service 24 hours’ notice of the inspection.

Updated 10 March 2022

About the service

Ann Challis is a residential care home providing personal care for up to 23 older people. At the time of the inspection there were 23 people using the service all of whom were female.

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

People were happy with the care and support provided and told us they felt safe. Risks identified at the last inspection had been addressed however, other risks had not been fully assessed. We have made a recommendation about risk management.

The home was clean and many areas had been refurbished, however, we found more work was required to make the environment suitable for people living with dementia. We have made a recommendation about making the environment more dementia friendly.

Staff knew people’s needs and how to meet them, although this information was not always fully reflected in their care records. Accidents and incidents were monitored although there was no thorough analysis of themes and trends.

People, relatives and staff felt the home was well run. The provider responded promptly to issues raised during the inspection. However, these had not been identified through the provider’s own quality assurance systems.

Medicines management was safe. There were enough staff to meet people’s needs. Staff were trained and had the required skills to meet people’s needs. Staff told us they felt well supported. Recruitment processes ensured staff were suitable to work in the care service. Staff understood safeguarding procedures.

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’s nutritional and healthcare needs were met. People and relatives praised the staff for being kind and caring. We saw staff treated people with respect. People enjoyed a range of activities and events, including going out on trips. Systems were in place to manage complaints.

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

Rating at last inspection and update

The last rating for this service was requires improvement (published 18 December 2018). There were four breaches of regulation and we took enforcement action. At this inspection we found improvements had been made and the provider was no longer in breach of regulations. The service remains rated requires improvement. This service has been rated requires improvement for the last four consecutive inspections.

Why we inspected

This inspection was carried out to follow up on action we told the provider to take at the last inspection.

Follow up

We will meet with the provider following this report being published to discuss how they will make changes to ensure they improve their rating to at least good. We will work with the local authority to monitor progress. We will return to visit as per our re-inspection programme. If we receive any concerning information we may inspect sooner.