Archived: Ridgewood House Home for the Elderly

Updated 7 June 2019

We carried out this inspection under Section 60 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (the Act) as part of our regulatory functions. This inspection was planned to check whether the provider was meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Act, to look at the overall quality of the service, and to provide a rating for the service under the Care Act 2014.

Inspection team:

The inspection team consisted of one inspector and an expert by experience. An expert-by-experience is a person who has personal experience of using or caring for someone who uses this type of care service.

Service and service type: Ridgewood House Home for the Elderly is a care home. People in care homes receive accommodation and nursing or personal care. CQC regulates both the premises and the care provided, and both were looked at during this inspection.

The provider of the service passed away in 2017. CQC authorised the provider’s personal representatives to carry on the regulated activity in his place. This was to enable the personal representatives to register the home under a new provider. The personal representatives have not registered under a new provider, due to legal reasons with the sale of the home. We have therefore asked the personal representatives to register as the provider as a matter of urgency, until the sale of the home is completed.

The service had a manager registered with the Care Quality Commission. This means that they are legally responsible for how the service is run and for the quality and safety of the care provided.

Notice of inspection: This inspection was unannounced.

What we did when preparing for and carrying out this inspection:

We reviewed information we had received about the service since the last inspection. This included details about incidents the provider must notify us about. We contacted the local authority who commission services from the provider. We assessed the information we require providers to send us at least once annually to give some key information about the service, what the service does well and improvements they plan to make. We used all this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection, we spoke with 12 people who used the service and five people’s visitors to ask about their experience of the care provided. We also observed the support people received within the communal areas of the home, including the support people received to take their medicine. We spoke with a visiting professional, seven members of staff including the deputy manager, the cook, the housekeeper, care staff and activities staff. We spent time with the registered manager during the inspection. We reviewed a range of records. This included accident and incident records, care records, medicine records, staff recruitment records and training records.

Updated 7 June 2019

About the service: Ridgewood House Home for the Elderly is registered for 21 beds and provides personal care and accommodation for older people. On the day of our visit 20 people were using the service.

People’s experience of using this service:

The service met the characteristics of ‘Good’. People were supported by staff who understood their role in protecting them from harm. Accidents and incidents were reviewed and analysed to try to prevent future incidents. Risks were assessed and managed and people received support to take their medicines in a safe way. Recruitment checks determined the suitability of new staff to protect people that used the service. Infection control procedures were in place and followed to minimise the risk of people acquiring an infection.

People enjoyed the meals provided and they were consulted about the meals available, to ensure they met their preferences and dietary needs. Drinks were available to people throughout the day to ensure they remained hydrated. When people were unable to make specific decisions regarding their care, assessments were completed and meetings held with professionals and people that were important to the person; to ensure decisions were made in their best interests. This demonstrated that people were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and were supported in the least restrictive way possible. People and their representatives were involved in their care to enable them to receive support in their preferred way. People had access to healthcare services and received coordinated support, to ensure their preferences and needs were met.

Opportunities to take part in social activities were available to enhance people’s well-being. People were supported to maintain their cultural and faith needs and were treated with consideration and respect by the staff team and their dignity and privacy was respected. Information was available in an accessible format to enhance people’s understanding. People maintained relationships with their family and friends and were encouraged to give their views about the service. This included raising any concerns they had.

There were systems in place to monitor the quality of the service and drive improvement, this included; the ongoing refurbishment, maintenance and safety of the home, staff development and support and ensuring that people’s preferences and needs were monitored and met.

Rating at last inspection: Good (report published 29/07/2016).

Why we inspected: This was a planned inspection based on the rating at the last inspection. At this inspection we found the service remained Good.

Follow up: We will continue to monitor intelligence we receive about the service until we return to visit as per our re-inspection programme. If any concerning information is received we may inspect sooner.

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