We carried out a review of the data available to us about Generals Meadow 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 Generals Meadow, you can give feedback on this service.
Generals Meadow is a residential care home providing personal care to up to 18 older people who may be living with dementia. At the time of our inspection there were 17 people being supported in one large adapted building.
People’s experience of using this service and what we found
People told us they felt safe and comfortable living at the service. Improvements had been made to the building and the environment to keep people safe and improve their wellbeing, such as changes to the garden.
Potential risks to people’s health and welfare had been assessed and there was guidance in place for staff to mitigate the risk. Medicines were managed safely, and people received their medicines as prescribed.
Staff had been recruited safely and there were enough staff to meet people’s needs. Accidents and incidents had been recorded and analysed to identify patterns and trends. Action had been taken to reduce the risk of them happening again.
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. There were systems in place to protect people from abuse and discrimination.
Checks and audits had been completed on all aspects of the service; action had been taken to rectify any shortfalls. People had been asked their opinion about the service and their suggestions had been acted upon.
People, relatives and staff told us the management team were approachable and they were comfortable to raise any concerns they may have. Relatives confirmed they were able to visit when and for as long as they wanted.
For more details, please see the full report which is on the CQC website at www.cqc.org.uk
Rating at last inspection and update
The last rating for this service was requires improvement (published 14 November 2019). The provider completed an action plan after the last inspection to show what they would do and by when to improve. At this inspection we found improvements had been made and the provider was no longer in breach of regulations.
Why we inspected
We inspected the service based on the previous rating.
We looked at infection prevention and control measures under the Safe key question. We look at this in all care home inspections even if no concerns or risks have been identified. This is to provide assurance that the service can respond to COVID-19 and other infection outbreaks effectively.
We carried out an unannounced comprehensive inspection of this service on 7 October 2019. A breach of legal requirements was found. The provider completed an action plan after the last inspection to show what they would do and by when to improve good governance.
We undertook this focused inspection to check they had followed their action plan and to confirm they now met legal requirements. This report only covers our findings in relation to the Key Questions Safe and Well-led which contain those requirements.
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. This is based on the findings at this inspection.
You can read the report from our last comprehensive inspection, by selecting the ‘all reports’ link for Generals Meadow 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.
Generals Meadow is a residential care home providing personal and nursing care to 16 older people at the time of the inspection. The service can support up to 19 people in one large adapted building.
People’s experience of using this service and what we found
People told us they felt safe living at the service. Potential risks to people’s health and welfare had not been consistently assessed and there was not always guidance for staff to mitigate risks. Improvements had been made to the service to keep people safe such as a new fire alarm.
Each person had a care plan, these did not always have detailed information about people’s choices and preferences. However, people told us and we observed, people being supported in the way they preferred.
Medicines were not always managed safely. Checks and audits were completed on the quality of the service but had not identified the shortfalls found at this inspection. Accidents and incidents had been recorded and analysed to identify patterns and trends. Action had been taken to reduce the risk of them happening again and this had been effective.
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 were encouraged to develop their own care and end of life plans, and where possible were supported to write their own plan. Staff worked with the GP and district nurses to support people at the end of their lives.
Staff had been recruited safely and there enough staff to meet people’s needs. Staff received training and supervision to develop their skills.
People visited the service and met with staff before they moved into the service to check that staff would be able to meet their needs. People were treated with dignity and respect. People were supported to be as independent as possible and express their opinions about the service.
People were supported to eat a balanced diet, people told us they had a choice of meals. People’s health was monitored, and action taken when people’s needs changed. People were referred to healthcare professionals when their needs changed.
People and relatives told us they knew how to complain; any complaints had been investigated and action taken to resolve the issues. People were given information in a way they could understand. People had access to activities they enjoyed and were supported to go on trips.
The registered managers kept up to date with developments and worked to continuously improve the service.
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 good (published 8 December 2016). Since this rating was awarded the registered provider of the service has changed. We have used the previous rating to inform our planning and decisions about the rating at this inspection.
Why we inspected
This was a planned inspection based on the registration date of the new provider.
Enforcement
We have identified a breach in relation to the governance of the service at this inspection.
Follow up
We will request an action plan for the provider to understand what they will do to improve the standards of quality and safety. We will work alongside the provider and local authority to monitor progress. We will return to visit as per our re-inspection programme. If we receive any concerning information we may inspect sooner.