Rivermede Court

Rivermede Court is a purpose-built residential care home providing personal care to up to 80 people. The service provides support to older people with age-related frailties and people living with dementia. At the time of our inspection there were 54 people using the service.

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

People and family members told us the service provided safe care and they were comfortable to speak with staff or management if they had any worries or concerns. Staff received safeguarding training and understood how to prevent and report allegations of abuse. Staff told us they were confident the registered manager would act on any disclosures.

People received medicines from trained and competent staff. The service was clean, and staff practised good infection control to help protect people from the risk of infectious diseases. Our observations confirmed this.

People's health risks were assessed and managed safely. Where people required equipment to move and position, staff followed care plans to ensure they were supported safely. Detailed guidance was in place for staff to follow, for example, where people required support to safely manage their diabetes.

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 observed staff frequently asking for consent before supporting people whilst respecting their autonomy.

Quality assurance processes were effective in identifying areas for improvement, shortfalls were addressed at the time or shortly following audits. Management listened to and acted upon feedback from people, family members and staff.

Staff and the management team worked with health and social care professionals to improve people's care and well-being. Staff spoke of a good working relationship with external agencies and visiting professionals spoke positively of the service.

Rating at last inspection

The last rating for this service was good (published 15 June 2021)

Why we inspected

We received concerns in relation to safe care. As a result, we undertook a focused inspection to review the key questions of safe and well-led only. We found no evidence during this inspection that people were at risk of harm from this concern. Please see the safe and well-led sections of this full report.

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 remains good.

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

Rivermede Court is a residential care home providing personal care to 23 people aged 65 and over at the time of the inspection. The home can accommodate up to 80 people in one adapted building. The home opened just prior to the pandemic and was in the process of increasing the occupancy. The management team explained that they wanted to ensure new admissions to the home were completed in a safe way. People are currently supported across two separate wings. The ground floor was a residential setting and on the second floor was an area dedicated to people living with dementia. The first floor was empty, however was being utilised by office staff, to support staff training and internal visits.

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

People were supported by caring staff who were compassionate and respectful to people’s individual needs and preferences. We saw staff supporting people with care and people responded well to staff. There was a friendly atmosphere in the home with people and staff regularly heard laughing and enjoying themselves.

Staff ensured people were safe from any risks of harm. This was ensured by detailed risk assessments that were in place and safeguarding policies and procedures.

People received their medicines by trained staff who were subject to competency checks. People also received a balanced diet with lots of various options throughout meal times. People told us that they were very happy with the food choices that were offered to them.

People were supported to access healthcare professionals and staff worked well with other social care professionals.

People received person centred care. This included activities to meet people’s interests and staff supported people in a way which matched their preferences. People enjoyed showing us the different activities that were offered to them and felt involved with the choices that were made.

People, relatives and staff felt involved with the running of the service. Audits were thorough to ensure a high standard of care was maintained.

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.

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 10/10/2018 and this is the first inspection.

Why we inspected

The inspection was prompted in part due to concerns received about recent safeguarding referrals that included concerns around medicines management, unwitnessed falls and mental capacity assessments. In addition to this being an unrated service 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 this concern. Please see the safe and effective sections of this full report.

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.

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.

Rivermede Court is a care home providing accommodation and personal care for up to 80 people aged 65 and over. There were 26 people using the service at the time of the inspection.

We found the following examples of good practice

The wellbeing of people living in the home had been prioritised. The manager had introduced a wellbeing period for all new admissions to step away from the terminology of “isolation” when they first moved to the home. This also included a dedicated separate communal area for people who are living with dementia and may not understand the restrictions. The area ensured their isolation complied with government guidance and meant people could still complete hobbies and enjoy their time before they moved to the main section of the home.

There was a thorough booking in process for visitors to keep the people living in the home safe from the risk of the spread of infection. This included a dedicated separate entrance to the building, health questionnaire, temperature checks and lateral flow tests (LFT) to be completed by all visitors.

The home had implemented in depth cleaning schedules in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. This included regular cleaning of frequently used surfaces such as door handles and light switches.

Appropriate zoning had been introduced to the home. This enabled staff to keep people safe and encourage social distancing in communal areas. When the home had experienced an outbreak, staff were allocated designated floors to work on to reduce the risk of spread of infection.

Staff had been supported with training throughout the pandemic. This detailed the various changes in guidance throughout the year.

The provider had maintained a plentiful supply of personal protective equipment (PPE) throughout the pandemic and was using the government portal to ensure the PPE stock remained at a safe level. There was also an arrangement with the provider to enable support from a central store of PPE if required.

The provider was taking part in the regular testing programme and ensured all staff and people living in the home had access to regular testing. This followed guidance and ensured appropriate steps were taken in recording tests in a timely way.

Further information is in the findings below.