Archived: Richmond Village Northampton

Richmond Village Northampton is a nursing home for up to 31 older people. There were 30 people using the service at the time of our inspection.

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

There was a registered manager who had been the manager of the service since 30 June 2016.

People received care from a well-established staff team who were highly skilled and knowledgeable. People told us they felt safe and they trusted staff.

People were able to express themselves and live their lives as much as they could because staff understood what was important to each person. Staff knew of people’s likes, dislikes and preferences and always met these. People were involved in the planning of their care. People received compassionate care from staff who knew them well.

Staff explored and found ways to meet people’s religious, spiritual and well-being needs. People’s visitors were always made to feel welcome and staff recognised family, visitors and pets were integral to people’s well-being.

Staff always sought to improve people’s care by involving health and social care professionals. Staff were skilled at supporting people and their families to explore and record their wishes about their care at the end of their life. Relatives were supported practically and spiritually. The service had strong links with palliative care services for symptom control.

People had a wide variety of food to choose from and a choice of dining areas. Creative ways were found to encourage people to eat. People’s independence and dignity were always promoted.

People’s assessments were holistic; they explored all areas of people’s lives including their cultural practices, needs and preferences. People’s risks were assessed at regular intervals or as their needs changed. Care plans informed staff how to provide care that mitigated these known risks.

Staff followed safe practices which protected people from the risks of infection and ensured people received their medicines safely.

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 could be confident their complaints would be responded to and resolved. The registered manager continually looked for ways to improve the service and involved staff in finding solutions to issues when things went wrong.

The registered manager was highly respected by all staff and health and social care professionals visiting the home. Staff at all levels were supported and felt empowered to develop their skills and knowledge to improve the standards of care.

The registered manager had a good working relationship with health teams and contributed to the development of best practice through continuous learning and development.

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 2 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.

Richmond Village Northampton provides accommodation for older people requiring support with their nursing and personal care. The service can accommodate up to 31 people. At the time of our inspection there were 28 people living at the home.

At the last inspection, in July 2015, the service was rated Good. At this inspection we found that the service remained Good.

People continued to receive safe care. Staff were appropriately recruited and people were protected from the risk of harm and received their prescribed medicines safely.

The care that people received continued to be effective. Staff had access to the support, supervision, training and ongoing professional development that they required to work effectively in their roles. People were supported to maintain good health and nutrition.

People were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff supported them in the least restrictive way possible; the policies and systems in the home supported this practice.

People developed positive relationships with the staff who were caring and treated people with respect, kindness and empathy. People had detailed personalised care plans in place which enabled staff to provide consistent care and support in line with people’s personal preferences. End of life plans had been sensitively developed; people and their families could be assured that their wishes were followed.

People knew how to raise a concern or make a complaint and the provider had implemented effective systems to manage any complaints that they may receive.

The service had a positive ethos and an open culture. The registered manager was committed to develop the service and actively looked at ways to improve the service. There were effective quality assurance systems and audits in place; action was taken to address any shortfalls.

Both of the people we spoke with told us they were well cared for and the staff knew the care they needed and how they wished to be supported. Both people told us that they felt safe living at Richmond Village Northampton. One person said 'I am very happy here and the staff look after me well'.

People told us they had plenty to eat and drink and that the food was good at Richmond Village Northampton. One person said 'you can choose what you want from the menu and they will always get you something else if you ask'.

People told us they thought there were enough staff who had the right skills to care for them safely and that the staff were kind and patient. One person said 'the staff are lovely here, they answer the call bell quickly and they often 'pop in' and have a chat'.

We observed that staff were attentive and people were well cared for however we found that the provider was not meeting the essential standard in relation to record keeping because the charts in people's rooms were not always completed to show that the required care had been provided.

The people we spoke with told us that they thought they were well looked after and that the staff knew how they needed and wished to be supported. They also told us that there were activities that they could join in with if they wanted to.

All of the people we spoke with told us that the service supported them in the management of their medication. They told us that the staff ensured that they took the right medication at the right times.

People told us that they thought that the staff had the right skills to care for them safely. One person said 'the staff are excellent, I think we are very well looked after here'.

All of the people we spoke with told us that they knew how to make a complaint should they need to do so.