The Gables Retirement Home

The Gables Retirement Home is a residential care home providing accommodation and personal care for up to 35 people. The service provides support to older adults, some of whom are living with dementia. At the time of our inspection there were 23 people using the service. The registered manager explained that the home had 24 bedrooms, some of which could be used to accommodate people who wished to share, at the time of our inspection no one was sharing a room.

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

Although people and their families told us they felt the service was safe we found several issues related to the safety. People were not consistently protected from risk as care plans and risk assessments were not always in place. Medicines were not always managed or stored safely. Issues with the cleanliness of the environment and equipment increased the risk of infection spreading. Systems were in place to protect people from the risk of abuse. The provider had taken opportunities to learn from incidents and improve care.

There were enough staff to keep people safe, but people’s families told us variations in staffing levels impacted upon the provision of person-centred care. We received variable feedback about the approach of staff and people’s right to privacy was not always upheld. Most people had adequate care plans in place, however some people’s needs were not always assessed in a timely manner and consequently staff were not consistently provided with adequate information to support people.

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, however, some further work was needed with recording in this area.

People were supported with their physical and mental health and referrals were made to external health professionals when required. People had enough to eat and drink and people’s dietary needs were met.

People were supported to maintain relationships with those who were important to them and there were a range of activities for people to take part in at the home. People received person centred, compassionate care at the end of their lives. People’s complaints were responded to swiftly and to their satisfaction.

Systems to ensure the quality and safety of the service were not always fully effective. There had been issues with the culture of the home which impacted upon care. Communication with people’s families was not always effective. The provider was passionate about providing high quality care, they were open to feedback and responsive to issues identified during our inspection. Feedback from people, families and staff was used to improve the quality of 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

This service was registered with us on 1 August 2019 and this is the first inspection. The last rating for the service under the previous provider was good, published on 24 June 2017.

Why we inspected

The inspection was prompted in part due to concerns received about the conduct of staff. A decision was made for us to inspect and examine those risks.

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.

We have identified a breach in relation to governance 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.