Archived: Apple Mews Care Home

Updated 24 April 2019

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

Inspection team: Two inspectors completed this inspection.

Service and service type: Apple Mews Care Home is a ‘care home’. People in care homes receive accommodation and nursing and personal care as a single package under one contractual agreement. CQC regulates both the premises and the care provided, and both were looked at during this inspection.

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

Notice of inspection: This was an unannounced inspection.

What we did: We reviewed information we had received about the service, which included details about incidents the provider must notify us about. We obtained feedback from the local authority and healthcare professionals who work with the service. We used all this information to plan our inspection.

Due to technical problems, the provider was not able to complete a Provider Information Return. This is information we require providers to send us to give some key information about the service, what the service does well and improvements they plan to make. We took this into account when we inspected the service and made the judgements in this report.

During the inspection, we spoke with five people who used the service and five relatives to ask about their experience of the care provided. We spoke with the registered manager, a nurse, a senior carer, an administration worker, four care staff, an activities coordinator, a cook, a laundry worker and a domestic staff member. We used the Short Observational Framework for Inspection (SOFI). SOFI is a way of observing care to help us understand the experience of people who could not talk with us.

We reviewed a range of records. This included four people's care records, medicine records and various records related to recruitment, the building, and the management of the service. After the inspection we asked the registered manager for some more information which they shared with us.

Updated 24 April 2019

About the service: Apple Mews is a care home which provides nursing and residential care for up to 45 people. Care is primarily provided for older people, some of whom are living with dementia. At the time of this inspection there were 29 people using the service.

People’s experience of using this service: Improvements had been made to the service following our last inspection in October 2018. At the last inspection we found issues with care records, staff support and training, staffing levels and the governance of the service. We identified two breaches of The Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations related to Safe care and treatment and Good governance. At this inspection the provider and registered manager had driven improvement and made positive changes. Systems for overseeing the service were more effective. The changes had enabled staff to address most of the issues noted at previous inspections.

People told us they were happy living at the home and staff treated them with respect. Staff knew how to safeguard people from abuse. Medicine management was effective. People and relatives told us they felt the service had improved and was meeting their needs.

Most staff said they felt positive about how the service was being operated and that staff morale had improved. The registered manager used information following accidents and incidents to reduce the likelihood of future harm.

Staff had the skills and knowledge to deliver care and support in a person-centred way. 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 service supported this practice.

People were able to participate in a range of activities if they chose to do so. The service worked with a range of professionals to best meet people’s needs.

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

Rating at last inspection: Requires Improvement (report published 13 November 2018).

Why we inspected: Apple Mews Care Home had been rated as requires improvement since October 2017. We received an improvement plan following the last inspection of the service. We wanted to ensure the issues identified at the last inspection had been addressed.

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.