Abbeyfield House

Updated 7 February 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

This inspection was completed by 1 inspector.

Service and service type

Abbeyfield 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. Abbeyfield 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

This inspection was unannounced. Inspection activity started on 06 December 2023 and finished on 08 January 2024 and all visits to the service were unannounced.

What we did before inspection

We reviewed information we had received about the service since our last inspection. We sought feedback from the local authority and professionals who work with the service. We 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 used the service and 3 relatives. We also spoke with 7 members of staff including the registered manager, deputy manager, and care staff.

We reviewed a range of records. This included 2 people's care records, medication records and a variety of records relating to the management of the service, including policies and procedures. We also reviewed 2 staff files in relation to recruitment and training.

Updated 7 February 2024

About the service

Abbeyfield House is a residential care home providing personal and nursing care to up to 7 people. The service provides support to people with a physical or learning disability and/or autism and/or other complex needs. At the time of our inspection there were 7 people using the service.

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

We expect health and social care providers to guarantee people with a learning disability and autistic people respect, equality, dignity, choices and independence and good access to local communities that most people take for granted. ‘Right support, right care, right culture’ is the guidance CQC follows to make assessments and judgements about services supporting people with a learning disability and autistic people and providers must have regard to it.

Right Support

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 were supported by staff to pursue their interests, so people had a fulfilling and meaningful everyday life which included leisure activities and voluntary work.

Systems were in place to oversee the service; however, these were not always effective and prompt, and effective action was not always taken to address areas for improvement, in particular the environmental issues we found on this inspection.

Systems to ensure staff had completed the relevant training or received regular support in the form of supervisions were not in place or being used effectively. The registered manager took immediate action to address this following the inspection. There was a consistent team of staff who knew people well and any gaps in rotas were covered through the use of bank staff or agency. There was not enough oversight of the agency staff to ensure they were suitably skilled and given an induction to the service, but this was immediately addressed by the service.

People were receiving their medicines as needed but medicines were not always suitably stored and maintained.

Right Care

People received kind and caring support. Staff understood and responded to people's individual needs and knew how to protect people from poor care. Recruitment checks were in place to ensure staff were suitable and any gaps in the rotas were covered to ensure there were sufficient numbers of staff to support people to live their daily lives. People's safety and care needs were identified, and care was planned to ensure their needs were met.

Right Culture

There was a positive and person-centred culture at the service. Staff knew and understood people well and were responsive, supporting them to live a quality life of their choosing. People and those important to them were involved in planning and reviewing care.

There were systems for oversight, but these were not always effective in ensuring all areas for improvement were identified and actioned in a timely way and accurate records were being kept. The management team were very responsive to feedback.

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 08 October 2018).

Why we inspected

This inspection was prompted by a review of the information we held about this service.

Enforcement

We have identified a breach in relation to systems to monitor and improve the quality and safety of the service and record keeping.

Follow up

We will request an action plan from the provider to understand what they will do to improve the standards of quality and safety. We will work alongside the provider and local authority to monitor progress. We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service, which will help inform when we next inspect.