We carried out a review of the data available to us about Abbeycliffe Residential Care Home 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 Abbeycliffe Residential Care Home, you can give feedback on this service.
Abbeycliffe Residential Care Home is a residential care home providing accommodation and personal care to 35 people aged 65 and over at the time of the inspection. The service can support up to 40 people in one building, over two floors. All bedrooms are single occupancy with an en-suite toilet. The home has a large lounge with a large conservatory and separate dining room. The home recently had a small extension to the rear allowing a family visiting space.
People’s experience of using this service and what we found
People who lived at the service spoke positively and felt safe and supported. The atmosphere was very calm, and the environment was homely and completed to a high standard.
We observed good interactions between staff, people and management throughout the inspection.
Staffing levels were appropriate, and staff were recruited safely. Staff felt supported at work and were positive about working at the home.
Improvements have been made since the last inspection. Medications were managed and administered safely. Care plans were detailed, thorough and were regularly reviewed.
Both the registered manager and the nominated individual had good oversight of the service to ensure people received good care. People, relatives and staff spoke positively about the management of the service.
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.
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 (9th March 2020) and there were breaches of regulation 12 and 17.
At this inspection we found improvements had been made and the provider was no longer in breach of regulations.
Why we inspected
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, Responsive and Well-led which contain those requirements.
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.
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 Abbeycliffe Residential Care Home 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.
Abbeycliffe is one building over two floors, accessible by a lift. All bedrooms are single occupancy with an en-suite toilet. People shared the adapted bathrooms / shower rooms. The home has a large lounge and separate dining room.
We found the following examples of good practice.
¿ A pod, with an external door and an intercom system, had been built into part of the lounge area to enable safe visiting by relatives over the winter.
¿ People had been supported to isolate during the recent COVID-19 outbreak. Designated staff on each shift supported those people who had tested negative to reduce the risk of cross infection.
¿ During the outbreak, PPE stations were positioned throughout the home so staff had easy access to PPE whenever they went into a person’s bedroom. Clinical waste bins were available in each bedroom and all laundry was kept separate to reduce the risks of cross contamination.
¿ All staff we observed were wearing their PPE correctly. Staff had received training in infection control and the donning and doffing of PPE. Observations of the use of PPE and hand hygiene were completed by the registered manager and infection control champion.
¿ The home said they were well supported by medical professionals, local authority infection control team and the clinical commissioning group (CCG).
Abbeycliffe Residential Care Home (known as Abbeycliffe) is a residential care home providing personal care to 35 people aged 65 and over at the time of the inspection. The service can support up to 40 people.
Abbeycliffe is one building over two floors, accessible by a lift. All bedrooms are single occupancy with an ensuite toilet. People shared the adapted bathrooms / shower rooms. The home has a large lounge and separate dining room.
People’s experience of using this service and what we found
Medicines records were not always accurately completed. We found discrepancies in the quantity of tablets held at the service and the medicines records. We observed the medicines administration procedure did not follow best practice. We have made a recommendation about all staff who administer medicines having their competency to do so regularly checked.
People’s care needs were assessed and reviewed. Care plans and risk assessments were not re-written in a timely manner when their needs had changed. Reviews of people’s care and support needs with their families had not always been completed on schedule.
The home was well decorated and maintained throughout. We have made a recommendation about using current best practice guidance to make the home more dementia friendly to assist people to orientate themselves within the home.
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.
An activities manager was now in post, who arranged a variety of external entertainment and trips out. Feedback about the activities was mixed, with staff not always having the time to organise the planned activities due to supporting people.
People received person centred care from staff who knew them well. Staff received the training and support to complete their roles. Staff were positive about working at Abbeycliffe. The registered manager and the management team were approachable and supportive.
People’s health and nutrition needs were being met. Staff respected people’s privacy and dignity and encouraged people to be as independent as possible.
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 22 July 2017).
Why we inspected
This was a planned inspection based on the previous rating.
Enforcement
We have identified two breaches at this inspection in relation to medicines management and the governance at the service.
Please see the action we have told the provider to take at the end of this report.
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.
At the last inspection completed on 22 April 2015 we identified one area where the provider was not meeting the requirements of the law. The provider did not have effective infection, prevention and control systems in place. This was a breach of Regulation 12 (2) (h) of the Health and Social Care Act (HSCA) 2008 Regulated Activities) Regulation 2014. At this inspection we found that improvements had been made and that the provider was now meeting the requirements of the law.
At the last inspection the service was rated good. At this inspection we found the service remained good.
People continued to remain safe from harm, abuse or ill-treatment. Staff members supporting them had received training and knew how to recognise and respond to such concerns.
People were supported by enough staff to meet their needs. People had their medicines when they needed them and were supported by trained staff who had been assessed as competent to do so.
The provider followed safe recruitment procedures when employing new staff members.
People were assisted by a staff team who had the skills and training to effectively meet their needs.
People were supported to have choice and control of their lives and staff supported them in the least restrictive way possible; the policies and systems at Abbeycliffe supported this practice.
People continued to receive care that was personalised to their individual preferences and circumstances. When changes occurred in people’s needs, care and support plans were reviewed to reflect the changes.
People were valued as individuals and supported in a caring and respectful way. Their privacy and dignity was valued by those providing assistance.
Staff members knew people’s likes and dislikes and supported them in the manner they preferred. People and their relatives knew how to raise any concerns or complaints and were confident they would be appropriately responded to. The provider had systems in place to address any issues raised with them.
The management team at Abbeycliffe was approachable and supportive to people and staff members.
The provider had systems in place to monitor the quality of service they provided and, where necessary, made changes to drive improvements.
Further information is in the detailed findings below
Abbeycliffe Residential Care Home is a detached two storey purpose built home situated in a residential area of Radcliffe. The home is registered to care for up to 36 elderly people who require personal care. There were 35 people using the service at the time of the inspection.
This was an unannounced inspection that took place on 22 April 2015. We last inspected the home on 8 October 2013. At that inspection we found the service was meeting all the regulations that we reviewed.
The home had a manager registered with the Care Quality Commission (CQC) who was present on the day of the inspection. A registered manager is a person who has registered with CQC 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.
We found the provider did not have adequate systems in place to prevent and control the spread of infection. Staff hand washing facilities, such as liquid soap and paper towels, were not available in some areas of the home where personal care was delivered. Good hand hygiene helps prevent the spread of infection. We also found that soiled laundry was not handled safely. Incorrect handling of laundry can pose an infection hazard. This was a breach of Regulation 12 (2) (h) of the Health and Social Care Act (HSCA) 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulation 2014. You can see what action we have told the provider to take at the back of the full version of the report.
People’s care records contained enough information to guide staff on the care and support required. The care records showed that risks to people’s health and well-being had been identified and plans were in place to help reduce or eliminate the risk.
People who used the service told us they felt the staff had the skills and experience to meet their needs. They spoke positively of the kindness and caring attitude of the staff and told us they enjoyed the activities that were provided.
We found people were cared for by sufficient numbers of suitably skilled and experienced staff who were safely recruited. We saw that staff received the essential training and support necessary to enable them to do their job effectively and care for people safely.
Staff we spoke with had a good understanding of the care and support that people required. We saw people looked well cared for and there was enough equipment available to promote people’s safety, comfort and independence.
Staff were able to demonstrate their understanding of the whistle blowing procedures and they knew what to do if an allegation of abuse was made to them or if they suspected that abuse had occurred.
We saw that appropriate arrangements were in place to assess whether people were able to consent to their care and treatment. We found the provider was meeting the requirements of the Mental Capacity Act 2005 (MCA) and the Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS); these provide legal safeguards for people who may be unable to make their own decisions.
We found the system for managing medicines was safe and we saw how the staff worked in cooperation with other health and social care professionals to ensure that people received appropriate care and treatment.
Food stocks were good and the meals provided were varied and nutritionally balanced. People told us they enjoyed their meals and there was always plenty to eat.
We saw there were risk assessments in place for the safety of the premises. All areas of the home and garden were accessible and well maintained. Systems were in place to deal with any emergency that could affect the provision of care, such as a failure of the electricity and gas supply.
To help ensure that people received safe and effective care, systems were in place to monitor the quality of the service provided. Regular checks were undertaken on all aspects of the running of the home and there were opportunities, such as questionnaires and meetings, for people to comment on the facilities of the service and the quality of the care provided.
Arrangements were in place to help ensure people were treated in a respectful, dignified way and were involved in the making of decisions about their care, support and treatment.
People's care records contained enough information to show how they were to be supported and cared for. People told us they were well looked after.
We saw that appropriate arrangements were in place to help safeguard people from abuse. People we spoke with told us that they felt safe and trusted the staff.
The medication system was safe and people told us they received their medicines when they needed them.
Sufficient staff were available at all times to meet the needs of the people using the service.