We carried out a review of the data available to us about Orchard Blythe on 6 July 2023. We have not found evidence that we need to carry out an inspection or reassess our rating at this stage.
This could change at any time if we receive new information. We will continue to monitor data about this service.
If you have concerns about Orchard Blythe, you can give feedback on this service.
Orchard Blythe is a residential care home, providing personal care and accommodation for up to 50 people. There were 40 people with frailty due to older age and / or dementia living at the home at the time of the inspection. The home was divided into three separate units.
What life is like for people using this service:
People using the service benefited from an extremely well led service. People and their relatives were placed at the heart of the service and involved in choosing their care and support, from pre-admission to living in the home.
People received kind, responsive person-centred care from staff who were well trained, motivated and supported by a dedicated registered manager who led the staff team to provide the best care they could.
The registered manager went the extra mile to ensure people’s lives were enriched and worked in collaboration with leaders in dementia care, to ensure people received care that met their long-term needs.
The staff team worked hard to promote people’s dignity and prevent people from becoming socially isolated within the care home.
Respect and dignity were cornerstones of the values upheld by the staff and role modelled by the registered manager.
Innovative approaches assisted people in being able to shape the service, make decisions, and relatives were encouraged to give their feedback about the service.
Staff understood how to keep people safe and embraced team working to reduce potential risks to people.
The service was led by a registered manager and management team that were committed to improving people’s lives.
Partnership working enabled people to maintain their wellbeing.
Rating at last inspection: The last comprehensive inspection report for Orchard Blythe was published in April 2016 and we gave an overall rating of Good. At this inspection we found the service continued to be Good, and in the area of Well Led had improved to Outstanding.
Why we inspected: This was a planned inspection based on the rating at the last inspection.
Follow up: We will continue to monitor intelligence we receive about the service until we return to visit as per our re-inspection programme. If any concerning information is received, we may inspect sooner.
For more details, please see the full report which is on the CQC website at www.cqc.org.uk
Orchard Blythe provides accommodation for older people and people with a diagnosis of dementia in a residential setting. There were 46 people living at the home when we inspected the service. People were cared for in four different units at the home over a single storey building.
A requirement of the provider’s registration is that they have a registered manager. 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 and associated Regulations about how the service is run. There was a registered manager in post at the time of our inspection. We refer to the registered manager as the manager in the body of this report.
The manager and staff understood their responsibilities under the Mental Capacity Act (MCA) and the Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS) to ensure people were looked after in a way that did not inappropriately restrict their freedom. The manager had made applications to the local authority where people’s freedom was restricted in accordance with DoLS and the MCA.
Staff received training in safeguarding adults and were able to explain the correct procedure to follow if they had concerns. All necessary checks had been completed before new staff started work at the home to make sure, as far as possible, they were safe to work with the people who lived there.
Each person had a care and support plan with detailed information and guidance personal to them. Care plans included information on maintaining the person's health, their daily routines and preferences. We found people were supported with their health needs and had access to a range of healthcare professionals where a need had been identified. There were systems in place to ensure that medicines were stored and administered safely.
The manager and staff identified risks to people who used the service and took action to manage identified risks and keep people safe. People were encouraged to eat a varied diet that took account of their preferences and where necessary, their nutritional needs were monitored.
There were enough staff employed at the service to care for people safely and effectively. New staff completed an induction programme when they started work to ensure they had the skills they needed to support people effectively. Staff received training and had regular meetings with their manager in which their performance and development was discussed.
Care staff treated people with respect and dignity, and supported people to maintain their privacy and independence. People made choices about who visited them at the home. This helped people maintain personal relationships with people that were important to them.
People were supported in a range of activities, both inside and outside the home. Staff were caring and encouraged people to be involved in decisions about their life and their support needs. People were able to make decisions about their environment and choose how their personal space was arranged.
People who used the service and their relatives were given the opportunity to share their views about how the service was run. People knew how to make a complaint if they needed to. Complaints received were fully investigated and analysed so that the provider could learn from them. The provider acted on the feedback they received to improve their service.
Quality assurance procedures were in place to identify where improvements were needed. Where issues were identified the provider acted to make the necessary changes to its service. There was a culture within the home to learn from accidents, and incidents and to continuously improve the service provided.
People we spoke with told us that they were very happy with the service being provided. They said they were comfortable, liked the food and spoke highly of the staff commenting, "They help you with everything you want. Can't fault them" and "They are good people, marvellous" Some people we spoke with felt that the home would benefit from more staff however.
People had care plans in place that contained information to assist staff with meeting their care and support needs. Staff we spoke with knew about people's needs and were able to tell us about them.
People were supported to maintain their food and fluid intake. Choices were available at mealtimes and people told us they enjoyed the food.
Processes were in place to protect people from abuse. People told us they felt safe in the home, with one person commenting, "I love it here, they look after me well and I feel very safe."
There were processes in place for monitoring and assessing the quality of the service provided for people. This included asking people for their views about the service provided.