Archived: Gracewell of Horley Park

Updated 12 July 2019

The inspection:

We carried out this inspection under Section 60 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 as part of our regulatory functions. This inspection checked whether the provider is meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Health and Social Care Act 2008, 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 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. The expert at this inspection had experience of caring for older people.

Service and service type:

Garcewell of Horley Park is a ‘care home’. People in care homes receive accommodation and nursing or personal care as single package under one contractual agreement. CQC regulates both the premises and the care provided, and both were looked at during this inspection.

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:

This was an unannounced inspection, which meant the provider and staff were not aware that we were coming.

What we did:

Before the inspection we used information, the provider sent us in the Provider Information Return (PIR). Providers are required to send us key information about their service, what they do well, and improvements they intend to make. This information helps us support our inspections.

We reviewed information we had received about the service since the last inspection. This included details about incidents the provider must notify us about, such as incidents and abuse.

During the inspection:

We observed the support that people received, spoke with people and staff and gathered information relating to the management of the service. We used the short observational framework for inspection (SOFI), which is a way of observing care to help us understand the experience of people who could not talk with us.

We reviewed a range of records. This included four staff recruitment files, training, records relating to the management of the home and a variety of policies and procedures and quality assurance processes developed and implemented by the provider. We also reviewed five people’s care records.

We spoke with eight people living at the service five relatives and a visiting healthcare professional. We also spoke with 11 members of staff, including the registered manager, the deputy manager, a registered nurse, a maintenance worker, an ancillary worker, an activities co-ordinator, the chef and care and staff.

Updated 12 July 2019

About the service:

Gracewell of Horley Park is a care home registered to provide nursing and residential care and accommodation for 60 people with various health conditions, including dementia, mobility issues and diabetes. There were 59 people living at the service on the day of our inspection. Gracewell of Horley Park is a purpose-built care home located in Horley, Surrey.

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

People’s experience of using this service:

People received outstandingly high-quality care that met and exceeded their needs, and improved their wellbeing, independence and happiness. Dedicated and enthusiastic staff ensured that people’s daily life was filled with enjoyment, opportunities for meaningful occupation, entertainment and involvement in making the service their home. People’s needs, wishes and aspirations were paramount and at the heart of the service. One person told us, “The staff are so kind nice and look after me. Being here is a blessing, I am fortunate to be here. I feel wanted, safe and well cared for by staff who want to take care of me”.

People were overwhelmingly positive about the quality of the food on offer and enjoyed socialising with each other in the dining rooms. Exceptional food was prepared for people, and innovative and creative techniques were used to ensure that not only did people enjoy the food on offer, but their health and wellbeing was promoted and improved through the excellent management of their nutrition and hydration. One person told us, “I sit with friends eating lovely food”.

People, their visitors and staff universally had their equality, diversity and culture celebrated, and their rights promoted and respected. The service was inclusive, educational and empowering. Innovative and practical technology was used to enhance peoples care, but also to entertain and teach people and staff new skills and increase their knowledge.

Extensive thought had been given to the environment of the service and the furnishings and the décor was of an exceptionally high standard. The environment of the service entertained, orientated, empowered and soothed people, especially those who were living with dementia.

The service had built an outstanding model of care and support provided to people. Staff provided a safe environment and people’s independence was not compromised. Risks were assessed to encourage people to do as much for themselves as they could.

The management of the service had instilled a culture of care and support. Excellent teamwork was an essential ingredient embedded in the service to ensure that people received continuity of care. People received continuity of care from regular staff and there was a culture of staff working closely together. Staff considered themselves, people using the service and their visitors as family and this ensured that people were cared for in a way that provided them with a happy, meaningful and enjoyable lifestyle. A member of staff told us, “The managers are always encouraging us to improve. There is a lot of opportunity to grow here. The support is great, you just ask and it gets done. We are more than colleagues and residents, we are family”.

Rating at last inspection: Good (report published 3 November 2016).

Why we inspected: This was a scheduled inspection based on the previous rating.

Follow up: We will continue to monitor the intelligence we receive about this home and plan to inspect in line with our re-inspection schedule for those services rated Outstanding.