20 November 2023
During a routine inspection
Aegis Care Solutions at Trees Residential Care Home is a residential care home providing accommodation for up to 22 people who required personal care and support. At the time of our inspection there were 19 people using the service.
People’s experience of using this service and what we found
The building was clean and tidy and regular maintenance checks were carried out. There were enough suitably trained staff to support people. Staff were recruited safely and we made a recommendation for the provider to review its systems and processes for renewing DBS checks for staff. The provider reflected on this recommendation and made immediate changes to its systems and processes for renewing DBS checks. People told us they felt safe and staff were kind and caring.
People’s medication was administered safely but some PRN (as and when medication) protocols were not in place. The registered manager took immediate action to include checks and reviews of PRN protocols as part of their ‘resident of the day’ review process.
A ‘resident of the day’ approach was used to review care plans and risk assessments. Moving and handling risks were detailed but detail describing the correct orientation of a sling was missing. This was brought to the attention of the registered manager who took action to address this during the inspection.
People were supporting people to eat and drink enough to maintain a balanced diet and there was a varied menu developed by people who lived in the home.
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 privacy, dignity and independence were respected and promoted and people were well treated and supported by well trained and caring staff.
People’s care plans were personalised and they were supported to make choices about participating in their chosen social and leisure interests on a regular basis.
People’s end of life care wishes were discussed and documented in their care plans.
The provider's systems did not always effectively monitor the quality of care provided to drive improvements. A range of audits were undertaken but they failed to identify some of the shortfalls we found during our inspection. Audits did not include checks for PRN protocols or how slings should be configured. The registered manager took immediate action to make changes to the audits and checks following our feedback on the day of inspection.
Staff received regular supervisions and told us they felt supported by their manager. There was a positive and caring culture at the service and it was calm and well organised.
Regular resident meetings took place along with surveys get feedback and views from people about their care, support, activities and food choices.
The service worked well in partnership with healthcare professionals.
For more details, please see the full report which is on the CQC website at www.cqc.org.uk
Rating at last inspection
This service was registered with us on 22 September 2022 and this is the first inspection. The last rating for the service under the previous provider was good, published on 1 May 2018.
Why we inspected
This inspection was prompted by a review of the information we held about this service, specifically, the time elapsed since the last full inspection and the change in provider.
Recommendations
We recommended the provider reviewed its systems and processes for renewing DBS checks for staff and that improvements to checks and audits are sustained and embedded into practice. The provider reflected on the recommendations and made immediate changes to its systems and processes.
Follow up
We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service, which will help inform when we next inspect.