• Care Home
  • Care home

Riverdale Care Home

Overall: Good read more about inspection ratings

65 Duggers Lane, Braintree, CM7 1BA (020) 8953 7600

Provided and run by:
Westgate Healthcare (Braintree) Limited

All Inspections

6 July 2023

During a monthly review of our data

We carried out a review of the data available to us about Riverdale Care Home on 6 July 2023. We have not found evidence that we need to carry out an inspection or reassess our rating at this stage.

This could change at any time if we receive new information. We will continue to monitor data about this service.

If you have concerns about Riverdale Care Home, you can give feedback on this service.

14 February 2023

During an inspection looking at part of the service

About the service

Riverdale is a residential care home providing personal and nursing care to up to 40 people. The service provides support to older people, some of whom are living with dementia. At the time of our inspection there were 29 people using the service.

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

The provider had implemented a number of improvements since our last inspection. There was a stable management team in place and more permanent staff had been recruited. People were supported by a consistent staff team who understood their needs and preferences.

The provider had reviewed and amended their processes for monitoring the quality and safety of the service. The registered manager had clear oversight over the service and was committed to continuously driving improvements in people’s care. People, relatives and staff spoke positively about the leadership of the service and the dedication of the registered manager. Staff felt valued and supported and were comfortable raising any concerns

Risks to people’s health and safety were assessed and monitored and people’s care plans contained personalised risk assessments. Staff had been provided with specialised training, tailored to understanding how to support people who may be feeling distressed or upset, in a dignified and respectful way.

People were protected from the risk of abuse and robust safeguarding processes were in place. Incidents and accidents were recorded appropriately and analysed to ensure lessons were learnt. People received their medicines as prescribed and the provider ensured staff were trained and competent to administer medicines prior to supporting people.

People and relatives spoke positively about the care provided. 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.

Staff had built positive working relationships with other healthcare professionals in order to support people’s changing needs. The management team had created a positive and welcoming culture where people and relatives felt involved in the service and were regularly asked for their feedback in order to shape and improve the care provided.

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

Rating at last inspection and update

The last rating for this service was requires improvement (published 07 June 2022) and there were breaches of regulation. The provider completed an action plan after the last inspection to show what they would do and by when to improve. At this inspection we found improvements had been made and the provider was no longer in breach of regulations.

Why we inspected

We carried out an unannounced focused inspection of this service on 27 April 2022. Breaches of legal requirements were found. We undertook this focused inspection to check the provider had followed their action plan and to confirm they now met legal requirements. This report only covers our findings in relation to the Key Questions Safe and Well-led which contain those requirements.

For those key questions not inspected, we used the ratings awarded at the last inspection to calculate the overall rating. The overall rating for the service has changed from requires improvement to good. This is based on the findings at this inspection.

We looked at infection prevention and control measures under the Safe key question. We look at this in all care home inspections even if no concerns or risks have been identified. This is to provide assurance that the service can respond to COVID-19 and other infection outbreaks effectively.

You can read the report from our last comprehensive inspection, by selecting the ‘all reports’ link for Riverdale Care Home 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.

27 April 2022

During an inspection looking at part of the service

About the service

Riverdale is a residential care home providing personal and nursing care to up to 40 people. The service provides support to older people, some of whom are living with dementia. At the time of our inspection there were 18 people using the service.

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

Risks to people’s health and safety were not always effectively managed. Incidents were not always appropriately documented or reviewed and people’s care plans and risk assessments did not always contain sufficient detail about how people would like to be supported and how to keep them safe.

The provider’s processes for monitoring the quality and safety of the service had not always been used effectively to highlight concerns in the completion of people’s records or incident reports. Staff had not always been supported to develop the appropriate skills and understanding of how to support people who may be feeling distressed or upset, in a dignified and respectful way.

The service had undergone a number of changes in management since the last inspection and during this period of change there had been an increase in safeguarding concerns relating to staffing and the care people received. The provider continued to liaise with the local authority, documenting lessons learnt and implementing improvements.

There was now a new registered manager in post and people, relatives and staff spoke enthusiastically about their approach and the positive impact they had made in the service. Staff told us they felt able to raise concerns and the culture and morale in the service had improved.

There were enough staff available to meet people’s needs. The provider had recruited more permanent staff and there was greater consistency in people’s support. Staff were safely recruited with the relevant checks completed prior to them starting work.

People and relatives spoke positively about the care provided. 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 received their medicines as prescribed and the provider ensured staff were trained and competent to administer medicines prior to supporting people. The provider liaised other healthcare professionals in order to support people’s changing needs, making referrals and seeking support when appropriate.

The provider had implemented safe infection prevention and control processes and ensured relatives and staff were kept up to date with changes in government guidelines throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. The provider sought regular feedback from people, relatives and staff and used this feedback to identify what had been achieved and where improvements were still needed in the service.

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 18 September 2019).

Why we inspected

We received information of concern in relation to the management of risks to people’s health and safety and the provider’s processes for managing safeguarding concerns. As a result, we undertook a focused inspection to review the key questions of safe and well-led only.

We looked at infection prevention and control measures under the safe key question. We look at this in all care home inspections even if no concerns or risks have been identified. This is to provide assurance that the service can respond to COVID-19 and other infection outbreaks effectively.

For those key questions not inspected, we used the ratings awarded at the last inspection to calculate the overall rating. The overall rating for the service has changed from Good to Requires Improvement based on the findings of this inspection. We have found evidence that the provider needs to make improvements. Please see the safe and well-led sections of this full report.

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

Enforcement

We are mindful of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on our regulatory function. This meant we took account of the exceptional circumstances arising as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic when considering what enforcement action was necessary and proportionate to keep people safe as a result of this inspection. We will continue to monitor the service and will take further action if needed.

We have identified breaches in relation to people’s safety and the oversight of the service at this inspection. Please see the action we have told the provider to take at the end of this report.

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.

15 August 2019

During a routine inspection

About the service

Riverdale is a residential care home providing personal care and accommodation for up to 32 people aged 65 and over. At the time of our inspection 12 people were using the service. The care home accommodates people across three floors in one new purpose built premises. One unit located on the lower ground floor, specialises in providing care to people living with dementia

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

The registered manager and provider shared a clear vision and strong values. They led by example and were committed to providing good quality, individualised care and support. They demonstrated a strong commitment to continuous improvement. People’s views were listened to and were at the heart of how the service was provided.

Systems were in place for the safe storage and supply of medicines. Prescribed creams and lotions were administered by care staff but signed for on administration records by senior staff. We recommended further work was needed to ensure prescribed creams and lotions once administered were signed for by the member of staff who carried out this task. The current system in place did not comply with good practice guidance.

Risk assessments detailed people's individual risks such as, mobility, risk of falls, malnutrition and managing behaviours that may present a risk to the individual and others. However, further work was needed to ensure robust assessment and monitoring for people with a catheter in place.

People received care from staff who knew them well. People told us staff were kind, caring in their approach and supported their independence. People, their relative’s and staff were positive regarding the management of the service.

There was an open and transparent culture within the management team demonstrated throughout the inspection. There were systems in place to monitor the quality and safety of the service. Incidents and accidents were investigated, trends analysed, and actions were taken to prevent recurrence.

People had access to a complaints process and provided with the information they needed to raise a concern should they need to do so. We have recommended that this is produced in accessible formats.

People's feedback was considered through a range of systems such as surveys, care reviews and meetings.

There were enough staff to support people, meet their needs and keep them safe. People were supported by skilled staff with the right knowledge and training.

Personalised care plans had been developed, which provided the staff team with guidance about the needs of people and how these needs were to be met. Further work was needed to ensure planning to maintain people’s oral health care needs.

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. We recommended further work was needed to gather information as to people’s cultural and spiritual needs as well as life history.

People had access to a variety of nutritious meals and snacks. Meals were freshly prepared and pleasantly presented.

There was a varied range of social activities on offer. Staff encouraged people to participate in group and one to one activities of interest to the individual.

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

Rating at last inspection This service was registered with us on 25/09/2018 and this is the first inspection.

Why we inspected

This was the first inspection for this service since registration.

Follow up

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