Meadow Bank House

Updated 15 December 2023

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.

Inspection team

The inspection team consisted of 1 inspector and 1 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

Meadow Bank 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. Meadow Bank House is a care home with 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 a registered manager in post.

Notice of inspection

The inspection was unannounced.

What we did before the inspection

We reviewed information we had received about the service since the last inspection. We spoke with the local authority who regularly monitor the home. 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 spoke with the registered manager, the area director, the regional senior nurse, the administrator, a senior carer, a nurse and 2 care staff. We received additional feedback via a questionnaires from 12 other staff members. We spoke with 4 people who used the service and 5 visiting relatives about their experiences of the care provided. We reviewed a range of records including 6 people's care records, risk assessments, medication administration records and associated documents. We observed care in communal areas and the dining room.

We looked at 4 staff personnel files including recruitment records. We looked at staff training and supervision records. We reviewed records relating to the management of the service, including audits, governance records, and a variety of policies and procedures.

Updated 15 December 2023

About the service

Meadow Bank House is a purpose built care home and is registered to provide both personal and nursing care for up to 47 people. The service provides support to older adults, including people living with dementia. The home is divided into two units, Primrose, and Poppy. At the time of inspection 44 people were living at the home; 21 on Primrose and 23 on Poppy.

People’s experience of the service and what we found:

People told us they were well treated, and their equality and diversity respected. People felt staff respected their privacy and dignity and took into account their views when agreeing the support required. Staff identified people’s communication needs and addressed these with appropriate actions.

Systems in place helped safeguard people from the risk of abuse. Assessments of risk and safety and supporting measures in place helped minimise risks. Staff managed people’s medicines safely. Staff followed infection prevention and control guidance to minimise risks related to the spread of infection. Staffing levels were sufficient to meet people’s needs and managers recruited staff safely.

Care plans included information about support required in areas such as nutrition, mobility, and personal care to help inform care provision. Staff made appropriate referrals to other agencies and professionals when required.

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.

The provider and registered manager responded to complaints appropriately and used these to improve care provision. The provider and registered manager were open and honest, in dealing with concerns raised. The registered manager was available for people to contact and undertook regular quality checks, to help ensure good standards of care.

The provider and registered manager followed governance systems which provided oversight and monitoring of the service. These governance systems and processes ensured the service provided to people was safe.

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

Rating at last inspection

The last rating for this service was Requires Improvement (published 22 October 2022).

Why we inspected

We received concerns in relation to the management of people’s pressure care needs. As a result, we undertook a focused inspection to review the key questions of safe and well-led only.

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 Requires Improvement to Good based on the findings of this inspection.

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

Follow Up

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