Background to this inspection
Updated
17 February 2024
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 team consisted of 1 inspector.
Service and service type
Acorn Care home 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. Acorn Care Home is a care home with nursing care. CQC regulates both the premises and the care provided, and both were looked at during this inspection.
Registered Manager
The provider of the service is an individual who is responsible for the day-to-day management of the service. Therefore they are not required to have a separate registered manager. Therefore, the provider is the registered manager of the service. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission to manage the service. Like registered providers, they are 'registered persons'. Registered persons have legal responsibility for meeting the requirements in the Health and Social Care Act 2008 and associated Regulations about how the service is run.
Notice of inspection
The inspection was unannounced.
What we did before the inspection
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.
During the inspection
During our inspection we spoke with the registered manager 3 people who used the service and a care worker. We looked at 3 people's care plans, which included risk assessments, 3 staff recruitment files, staff training records and records relating to the management of the service such as quality monitoring surveys. We also looked at the environment of the service. After the site visit, we spoke with 2 relatives about their experiences of the care provided and 1 care worker.
Updated
17 February 2024
About the service
Acorn care home is a residential care home providing personal and nursing care to up to 4 people. The service provides support to older people and people living with dementia. At the time of our inspection there were 4 people using the service.
People’s experience of the service and what we found:
People felt safe. There were processes in place to safeguard people from abuse. Risks to people's safety were assessed and reviewed. There was guidance for staff to keep people safe from harm. People received their medicines as prescribed. Staff wore appropriate Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) such as face masks and disposable gloves and aprons.
People's care needs were assessed and reviewed. Staff completed training to know how to care for people effectively. People enjoyed the food staff prepared. Staff knew and understood people's dietary requirements. 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.
Staff were kind and caring. People and relatives praised the caring and inclusive nature of the service. People's privacy, dignity and independence were respected and promoted. People and relatives were actively involved in their care planning and delivery.
People received care that was responsive to their needs and preferences. People's communication needs were assessed and met. People achieved good outcomes from their care. People, relatives and staff all spoke highly of the support they received from the nominated person. The nominated individual maintained daily oversight of people's care and was caring towards people and staff. They ensured they built and maintained a close relationship with people and their relatives.
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 February 2018).
Why we inspected
This inspection was prompted by a review of the information we held about this service.
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.
You can read the report from our last comprehensive inspection by selecting the ‘all reports’ link for Acorn Care Home on our website at www.cqc.org.uk.