Abbeymere Care Centre

Updated 5 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 the COVID-19 pandemic we are looking at how services manage infection control and visiting arrangements. This was a targeted inspection looking at the infection prevention and control measures the provider had 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 15 February 2022 and was announced. We gave the service 24 hours’ notice of the inspection.

Updated 5 March 2022

We undertook our comprehensive inspection of Abbeymere on 21 June 2018. The inspection was unannounced. We previously inspected the service on 11 April 2017 and the rating after this inspection was requires improvement. At this latest inspection we rated the service as good.

Abbeymere is a ‘care home’. People in care homes receive accommodation and nursing or personal care as single package under one contractual agreement. CQC regulates both the premises and the care provided, and both were looked at during this inspection.

Abbeymere accommodates a maximum of 18 older people that may have dementia, poor mental health, physical disabilities or a sensory Impairment. People live in one building that was adapted to meet the needs of people living there. There were 18 people living at the home at the time of our inspection.

The provider is required to, and has a registered manager for the home. They were present throughout our inspection. 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.

People felt safe and expressed confidence in the staff and management. We saw the provider learnt from any incidents to promote people’s safety without compromising their rights. People received care with minimal delay as there was sufficient staff available to respond to their needs. People were confident their medicines were managed safely. We found the home was clean and smelt fresh. Appropriate checks on prospective staff to ensure they were safe to work at the home were completed. People are supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff do support them in the least restrictive way possible; the policies and systems in the service do support this practice.

People’s consent was sought by staff consistently, prior to and during the provision of personal care. Where there was a need to consider restrictions for a person’s safety their 'best interests' were considered. Staff demonstrated they were skilled and knowledgeable, this reflecting the regular training they received. People could access health care services as needed with the support of staff and their relatives. People had a choice of nutritious food and regular and varied drinks which they enjoyed. People could access healthcare services as needed. The home was small, homely and provided a comfortable environment for people to live in. The provider was however looking at improving the environment with plans for further communal space.

People received support from staff who were kind, caring and compassionate. People felt they were treated with dignity, respect and valued as individuals. People's right to independence and choice was promoted. People were supported to maintain links with their people important to them, and families felt supported by the staff at the home.

People, relatives and staff knew who the registered manager was and felt able to approach them with any matters they wished to discuss. People felt the provider and registered manager would make changes based on what they said to improve the service. We found systems for monitoring the quality of care were in place to ensure standards were maintained. The provider and registered manager understood their legal responsibilities, were open and honest about any issues that affected the service, and had a wish to further improve the service so people continued to receive good quality care.