• Care Home
  • Care home

Ridgewell House

Overall: Requires improvement read more about inspection ratings

95 Dulwich Road, Holland-on-Sea, Clacton On Sea, Essex, CO15 5LZ (01255) 815633

Provided and run by:
Prestige International EC Limited

Latest inspection summary

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Background to this inspection

Updated 2 November 2022

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. We checked whether the provider was meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Act. We looked at the overall quality of the service and provided a rating for the service under the Health and Social Care Act 2008.

As part of this inspection we looked at the infection control and prevention measures in place. This was conducted so we can understand the preparedness of the service in preventing or managing an infection outbreak, and to identify good practice we can share with other services.

Inspection team

The inspection team consisted of two inspectors and an Expert by Experience. An Expert by Experience is a person who has personal experience of using or caring for someone who uses this type of care service.

Service and service type

Ridgewell House is a ‘care home’. People in care homes receive accommodation and nursing and/or personal care as a single package under one contractual agreement dependent on their registration with us. Ridgewell House is a care home without nursing care. CQC regulates both the premises and the care provided, and both were looked at during this inspection.

Registered Manager

This provider is required to have a registered manager to oversee the delivery of regulated activities at this location. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission to manage the service. Registered managers and providers are legally responsible for how the service is run, for the quality and safety of the care provided and compliance with regulations.

At the time of our inspection there was not a registered manager in post.

Notice of inspection

This inspection was unannounced.

Inspection activity started on 22 August 2022 and ended on 14 September 2022. We visited the service on 22 August 2022

What we did before the inspection

We reviewed information we had received about the service since the last inspection. We sought feedback from the local authority. We used the information the provider sent us in the provider information return (PIR). This is information providers are required to send us annually with key information about their service, what they do well, and improvements they plan to make. We used all this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection

We observed the care provided to help us understand the experience of all people, in particular those who could not talk with us. We reviewed a range of records, including four people's care records. We looked at two staff files in relation to recruitment and staff supervision. A variety of records relating to the management of the service, including policies and procedures were reviewed.

Following the inspection we spoke to twelve relatives and five staff members. We continued to seek clarification from the provider to validate evidence found. We looked at training and quality assurance records.

Overall inspection

Requires improvement

Updated 2 November 2022

About the service

Ridgewell House is a residential care home providing personal and nursing care to up to 16 people. The service provides support to older people, some of whom may be living with dementia. At the time of our inspection there were 12 people using the service. The service accommodates people in one adapted building.

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

People were not always protected from the risk of harm. The service was not always well led. The quality assurance processes were not robust, and the provider did not always have complete oversight of the service.

The provider completed relevant recruitment checks for new staff; however, minor improvements were needed in the staff recruitment files to ensure they met with the requirements of the regulation. Improvements were required to some aspects of medicines management and actions to update their practice.

We have made recommendation to the provider around safe recruitment practises and about the management of some medicines.

The manager was new and committed to driving improvement. They responded to the concerns raised and sought to rectify them.

People were protected from the risk of abuse. Staff knew how to identify signs of abuse and felt comfortable raising concerns with the registered manager. 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 and update

The last rating for this service was good (published 31 March 2019)

Why we inspected

This inspection was prompted by a review of the information we held about this service. We undertook a focused inspection to review the key questions of safe and well-led only. We have found evidence that the provider needs to make improvements. 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 has changed from good to requires improvement. This is based on the findings at this inspection.

Follow up

We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service, which will help inform when we next inspect.

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