Archived: Abbotsbury Residential Home

Abbotsbury Residential Home is a residential care home providing personal care to 32 people at the time of the inspection. The service can support up to 32 people. The building was designed to give easy access over one floor to all areas including outdoor space. People could move around freely accessing activities of their choosing. The service had several communal spaces as well as one ensuite bathroom.

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

People told us staff were, “Amazing and treated them very well” and were, “Very kind, caring and funny.” Staff interacted with people at their pace, unrushed and joked and laughed with each other. Staff in all roles were empowered to sit and chat to people and developed relationships that helped people feel confident to speak up. Relatives told us the service was, “Fantastic.” And “The best home ever.” People and their relatives were supported in a variety of ways to speak up and have a say in how the service was run. Many people, relatives and staff used the word ‘family’ when describing the service.

People told us of many examples of where staff had altered activities and care approaches to support individual preferences. Staff were creative in how they engaged people and prevented people feeling isolated. People and their relatives were supported with end of life care in a sensitive and individual way. People who wanted to be, were supported to have roles in the care home which they were very proud of and boosted their sense of self-worth.

People and their relatives experienced a positive and inclusive approach to care and conducted some audits to give their feedback to help improve the service. The staff worked with outside professionals and communities to improve people’s health and social wellbeing. The registered manager and staff team all had a very good understanding of their roles and were empowered to make suggestions to keep improving the care.

People told us they felt safe and secure and well cared for. People were safe because the service had good systems for monitoring risk and staff had a good understanding of people’s needs and how to keep them safe. People told us there was enough staff on duty to meet their needs and they did not need to wait when they called for support. People were supported to take their medicines safely.

People told us the food was lovely and they had plenty of choice. They told us they and their relatives were involved in planning their care and assessing their needs. People told us they could choose the décor and personalise their rooms. 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

The last rating for this service was Good (17 March 2017).

Why we inspected

This was a planned inspection based on the previous rating.

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.

Abbotsbury Residential Home is a residential care home registered to provide care to 32 older people, some of whom may be living with dementia. At the time of our inspection there were 29 people using the service including five respite placements.

At the last inspection in March 2015 the service was rated good. At this inspection we found the service remained good.

People were kept safe from avoidable harm and staff understood the process to follow to safeguard people if they needed to report any concerns. There were comprehensive risk assessments in place to detail ways in which risks could be appropriately managed. People had care plans in place which detailed their backgrounds, preferences and the level of support they required. People were kept stimulated and had opportunities to enjoy activities and hobbies in and out of the home.

People had a choice of food and were positive about the quality of the meals provided to them. People’s healthcare needs had been identified and they were supported to access other healthcare professionals as needed. They were supported to make decisions impacting on their own care and were asked for their consent for the support provided. People’s views and feedback were used to make improvements within the service.

There were enough staff deployed to meet people’s needs safely.There was a system in place to ensure that staff recruited had the appropriate skills and experience and were of good character. Staff received regular supervision and appraisal and were positive about the quality of training available to them. We observed caring, patient and kind interactions between staff and people and evidence of strong relationships that enabled them to provide person-centred care. Staff were supported to contribute to the development of the service through team meetings.

The registered manager promoted a positive, person-centred culture and was committed to making continued improvements to the delivery of care. Regular audits were carried out to identify areas for improvement, and surveys and questionaires were sent out to gather views and suggestions. There was a system for handling and resolving complaints. There was evidence of strong links with the local community to provide opportunities for people.