Orchard House

Updated 24 January 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 and 1 Specialist Nurse Adviser.

Service and service type

Orchard House 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. Orchard House 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

This provider is required to have a registered manager to oversee the delivery of regulated activities at this location. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission to manage the service. Registered managers and providers are legally responsible for how the service is run, for the quality and safety of the care provided and compliance with regulations.

At the time of our inspection there was a registered manager in post.

Notice of inspection

The inspection was unannounced

What we did before the inspection

We reviewed information we had received about the service and sought feedback from the commissioners of the service. We also 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. We used all this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection

We spoke with 3 people who use the service and 5 relatives. We spoke with 12 members of staff including care and support workers, therapy staff, the unit manager, the quality manager and the registered manager.

We reviewed a range of records including care records, medication records and staff recruitment records. We also reviewed records relating to the management of the service, including policies and procedures and complaint records.

Updated 24 January 2024

About the service

Orchard House is a care home providing personal and nursing care to up to 22 people. The service specialises in providing support to people with acquired brain injuries. At the time of the inspection there were 21 people using the service.

People’s experience of the service and what we found:

The service was exceptionally well-led by a team of managers and staff who were focused on providing person-centred care, empowering people to reach their goals and best outcomes. There was a strong emphasis on learning from people’s experiences and any accidents or incidents.

There was an extremely open and honest culture where people were actively encouraged and empowered to raise concerns through innovative ways. Staff were dedicated to providing a safe and nurturing environment and took pride in their work.

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 assured they were cared for safely by highly trained, committed and competent staff team. Medicines were safely managed and risks to people’s health and well-being were assessed, and measures put in place to mitigate the risks identified. Staff were recruited safely and knew how to protect people from harm or abuse.

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 Outstanding (published 04 December 2019).

Why we inspected

The inspection was prompted in part due to concerns received about the administration of medicines and staff conduct. A decision was made for us to inspect and examine those risks. We found no evidence during this inspection that people were at risk of harm from these concerns.

We undertook a focused inspection to review the key questions of safe and well-led only. For those key question not inspected, we used the ratings awarded at the last inspection to calculate the overall rating.

You can read the report from our last comprehensive inspection by selecting the ‘all reports’ link for Orchard House on our website at www.cqc.org.uk.

Follow Up

We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service, which will help inform when we next inspect.