Broadlands

Broadlands is a residential care home providing personal care to up to 52 people. At the time of the inspection there were 51 people living in the home. Most of these people were older adults with needs associated with physical disability, dementia or long-term conditions.

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

People continued to receive exceptional high-quality care that met and exceeded their individual needs, expectations, and enriched their daily lives. Without exception, feedback was overwhelmingly positive from people, relatives, visitors and professionals about the extremely compassionate and caring approach of dedicated and enthusiastic staff, who repeatedly went above and beyond to ensure people’s lives were filled with enjoyment, meaningful occupation, engagement and involvement in the place they called home.

People were consistently treated with dignity and respect in a way that truly valued them as individuals. They continued to be supported to maintain their health and to access relevant services. Staff were knowledgeable about people’s risks and how to care for them safely. They understood how to protect and safeguard people and had a positive attitude to reporting concerns.

Staff were extremely motivated and passionate about their role and understood their responsibilities. They actively involved people and their relatives in the ongoing design and delivery of their care in line with their identified needs and with the wider issues within the home.

Feedback was actively encouraged, valued and acted on. People, relatives and professionals expressed confidence that they could raise issues or concerns with any member of staff or the management team and that these would be addressed.

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.

People’s medicines were managed safely. The home was visibly clean throughout. There continued to be enough staff with the right skills and experience to care and support people. When the time came staff respected people’s wishes and provided them with holistic, dignified, end of life care.

Broadlands continued to be an active presence within the local community. Strong community links had been established with different community groups regularly visiting and people accessing the local area.

Since our last inspection, under the leadership of the registered manager, Broadlands has gone from strength to strength, consistently developing and improving through its robust quality assurance systems to ensure it succeeds in delivering positive outcomes for people. A visibly person-centered culture had been firmly embedded, reinforced by the provider’s principles, values and expectations of staff. This underpin the characteristics of an outstanding service.

Rating at last inspection

The last rating for this service was Outstanding (published 10 November 2016).

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.

For more details, please see the full report which is on the CQC website at www.cqc.org.uk

There was a registered manager in post. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission to manage the service. Like registered providers, they are ‘registered persons’. Registered persons have legal responsibility for meeting the requirements in the Health and Social Care Act 2008 and associated Regulations about how the service is run.

The service provided outstanding care and support to people which was highly responsive to their needs, wishes and preferences. People were enabled to lead meaningful and fulfilled lives with the confidence that any changing needs would be met. The service provided a highly person-centred approach to the delivery of care. The provider and management team had embedded a strong vision and set of values within the staff team, and as a result, people received care which was kind, compassionate, and individualised.

People who used the service and care workers spoke highly of the management team. Management were visible, led by example and embodied the highest standards of care and support for people and staff. The management team placed high importance on the views and wishes of people using the service, using this to influence change and developments within the service.

People’s needs were comprehensively assessed and care plans gave clear guidance on how people were to be supported. People planned their own care, with the support of staff and their relatives where appropriate, to ensure that care plans matched their individual needs, abilities and preferences, from their personal perspective. Care workers were highly motivated and committed to providing an exceptional standard of care. They showed insight and understanding in caring for people, because they understood people's individual preferences.

We saw friendly and caring interactions between care workers and people. People received care that respected their privacy and dignity and promoted their independence. Spontaneous opportunities were offered to people, which provided a relaxed approach to how people chose to spend their time.

Risks to people using the service were assessed reviewed, recorded and managed appropriately. Detailed and current risk assessments were in place for people using the service.

Care workers knew how to keep people safe and understood their responsibilities to protect people from the risk of abuse. Care workers were recruited through safe recruitment practices.

The service were highly responsive to people’s nutritional needs. Risks to people's nutrition were minimised because suitable, nutritious meals were available every day in accordance with people's stated preferences. Mealtimes were a social event, where people could invite guests to join them. This meant that people were protected from becoming socially isolated and encouraged to maintain relationships with those that were important to them.

An appropriate complaints procedure was in place. The registered manager and deputy manager were seen to be accessible to people, and care workers spoke positively about the support available to them.

Accidents, incidents, falls and complaints were investigated and actions taken to minimise the risks of a re-occurrence. Any feedback was used as an opportunity to improve the service.

The provider and registered manager were meeting their regulatory responsibilities and there were systems in place to monitor and improve the quality of the service provided.

People told us that they were happy living at Broadlands. One person told us, 'I am very happy living here, I don't think you will better it.' A further person said, 'I can't fault this place, people are very kind and nothing is too much trouble.' A further person told us, 'The food is excellent, I can't praise the kitchen staff enough.'

Staff understood the principle of consent and we saw evidence of this. One person using the service told us, 'If I want to do things I can.' Another said, 'They (the staff) ask me if I want to do something.'

There were a variety of activities for people to take part in. Assessments of people's care had taken place to ensure that if was delivered in a safe manner and people had access to other health care professionals when they needed it.

On the day of our inspection, the service was clean and tidy and free from unpleasant odours. Staff were able to explain their roles in relation to infection control and we saw that steps were taken to minimise the risk of cross infection.

The staff were knowledgeable and well trained and the appropriate checks had been made before they were employed by the service.

Any complaints made had been dealt with effectively and policies and procedures were in place to assist people to make a complaint if they wanted to.

Care plans were well organised and up-to-date. They recorded any change in a person's needs. Doctors attended on a weekly basis to review people. One person told us: 'When I was poorly last week, the staff couldn't do enough for me, popping in to make sure I was all right.'

The service had clear safeguarding policies and procedures, and staff trained to follow them, to protect people from the risk of abuse.

Staff were trained and well supervised. One person told us: "Staff respond to the call bell as quickly as they can."

The service had effective systems to regularly assess and monitor the quality of service that people received. All the people we spoke with told us how content they were living in Broadlands. One person told us: "It is lovely here. I am well looked after."