Meadow House Nursing Home

Updated 27 April 2019

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. This inspection was planned to check whether the provider was meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Act, to look at the overall quality of the service, and to provide a rating for the service under the Care Act 2014.

Inspection team:

The inspection team consisted of an inspector, an expert by experience and a specialist advisor. An expert by experience is a person who has personal experience of using or caring for someone who uses this type of care service. The specialist advisor was a registered nurse who specialised in providing care to people with neurological conditions.

Service and service type:

Meadow House is a ‘care home’. People in care homes receive accommodation and nursing or 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 care home accommodates up to 38 people over one floor.

The service had a manager registered with the Care Quality Commission. 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:

The inspection was unannounced.

What we did:

Before the inspection we reviewed the information we held about the service and the provider. This included notifications the provider had to send us by law and information we had received from members of the public about the quality of care being provided. We also reviewed the information the provider had sent to us in their Provider Information Return (PIR) in June 2018. Providers are required to send us key information about their service, what they do well and improvements they plan to make. All this intelligence helped us plan our inspection.

We spoke with six people and four relatives during our inspection visit along with five staff which included care, nursing and kitchen staff. We also spoke with the registered and deputy manager and the regional manager and clinical lead who represented the provider. We observed how staff interacted and provided support to people and viewed the premises for safety and accessibility. After the inspection visit, we obtained feedback from five healthcare professionals for their views about the quality of care provided to people.

We looked at various records relating to the care that people received which included four people's care records and medicine records. We also looked at a range of records regarding how the registered manager and provider monitored the quality of care people received.

Updated 27 April 2019

About the service:

Meadow House Nursing Home is a service that provides accommodation and nursing care for up to 38 people who are living with neurological condition such as multiple sclerosis, cerebral palsy or acquired brain injury. At the time of our inspection there were 37 people living in the home.

People’s experience of using this service:

• Staff continued to be extremely kind, caring and compassionate. They knew people extraordinarily well and frequently spoke of them as being an ‘extended family’.

• Staff often went above and beyond what was expected of them to ensure people were comfortable, well cared for and content.

• Staff and management worked well together to ensure that people received care that was totally focused on them as individuals based on their own needs, goals and aspirations. This had resulted in some people experiencing extremely positive outcomes in terms of their independence.

• People had a voice that was listened to and respected. Where people had communication needs or lacked capacity to make their own decisions, staff were knowledgeable about how best to communicate with them and always acted in their best interests.

• Staff advocated for people where necessary to ensure that their views were heard. People’s opinions mattered and they were actively involved in the running of the home which gave them a sense of empowerment and pride.

• Staff had the appropriate knowledge and skills to provide people with effective care.

• People were given total choice and control over their care where this was possible. They had been fully involved in developing and planning their care.

• There was good leadership at the service that promoted an open and inclusive culture.

• The management had a clear focus that people should be put first, treated as individuals and receive support that enabled them to live fulfilling lives.

• Staff demonstrated great pride at working in Meadow House. They worked well as a team and felt valued and supported.

• There were robust systems in place to monitor the quality of care people received and to ensure the values, aims and objectives of the service were met.

• The registered manager and staff were keen to continuously improve the quality of care people received.

• People and relatives were extremely satisfied with the care and support provided.

• There were clear systems and processes in place to protect people from the risk of abuse and avoidable harm.

• The home, people’s rooms and communal areas were clean.

• People received their medicines when they needed them.

• When things went wrong, lessons had been learnt to try to reduce incidents or accidents from happening again.

• There were enough staff working in Meadow House to keep people safe and to provide them with care that met their needs. This included having time to spend with people to enhance their wellbeing.

Rating at last inspection:

Outstanding (Published July 2016).

Why we inspected:

This was a planned inspection based on the period since the last report was published by CQC.

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.