We carried out a review of the data available to us about Eden Cottage 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 Eden Cottage Care Home, you can give feedback on this service.
At our last inspection we rated the service good. At this inspection we found the evidence continued to support the rating of good and there was no evidence or information from our inspection and ongoing monitoring that demonstrated serious risks or concerns. This inspection report is written in a shorter format because our overall rating of the service has not changed since our last inspection.
Staff knew how to keep people safe and reduce the risks of harm from occurring. Staff had completed training in safeguarding and understood their responsibilities to report any concerns.
There was a registered manager and deputy manager working at the home as the management team.
Robust recruitment and selection procedures ensured suitable staff were employed. Risk assessments relating to people's individual care needs and the environment were reviewed regularly. Medicines were managed safely and administered by staff trained for this role.
Staff received appropriate training and support to meet people’s individual needs.
People were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff supported them in the least restrictive way possible; the policies and systems in the service supported this practice. People were supported to have enough to eat and drink and had access to healthcare professionals as and when this was needed.
People were supported by kind and respectful staff who valued people’s individuality and independence. We observed positive interactions between people and staff. People could make choices about how they wanted to be supported and staff treated them with dignity and respect. There was a welcoming and homely atmosphere at the service.
People received support which was person-centred and responsive to their needs. Person-centred is when people’s preferences are respected. Personalised care plans were in place which helped staff to know how people wished to be supported with daily living. People were involved in developing and reviewing their care plans and decisions about their care.
People were supported to take part in valued individualised activities including regular community outings and entertainment to engage people and prevent social isolation.
People spoke positively about the registered manager and the provider. There was an effective quality assurance system in place to ensure the quality of the service and drive improvement.
There were systems in place for communicating with staff, people who used the service and their relatives to ensure they were fully informed via meetings and newsletters.
Further information is in the detailed findings below.
Eden Cottage Care Home is a residential care home based in a residential area of Darlington, County Durham. The home provides personal care for older people and people living with dementia. It is situated close to a range of local amenities and transport links. On the day of our inspection there were 22 people using the service.
The service had a registered manager who was on maternity leave at the time of our inspection. However there was a temporary manager in place who was in the process of registering with us.
A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission (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 2008 and associated Regulations about how the service is run.
We last inspected the service in January 2015 and rated the service as ‘Good.’ At this inspection we found the service remained ‘Good’ and met all the fundamental standards we inspected against.
The atmosphere of the service was lively and homely with lots going on. Relatives told us the service was very welcoming and family orientated. People who used the service and their relatives that we spoke with told us they felt the service had a warm and friendly approach.
Without exception we saw staff interacting with people in a person centred and caring way. We spent time observing the support that took place in the service. We saw that people were always respected by staff and treated with kindness. We saw staff being considerate and communicating with people well.
We saw that people were encouraged to enhance their wellbeing on a daily basis to take part in activities that encouraged and maximised their independence and this also contributed positively to the atmosphere of the service.
We spoke with a range of different team members who told us they all felt well supported and that the manager and the management team was supportive, and they were receptive, open and approachable. We also spoke with two of the managing directors.
Throughout the day we saw that people who used the service, relatives and staff were comfortable, relaxed and had an extremely positive rapport with the manager, directors and also with each other.
From looking at people’s care plans we saw they were written in plain English and in a person centred way. Care plans also included a ‘one page profile’ that made use of personal history and described an individual’s care, treatment and support needs. These were regularly reviewed and included family members and people in the process.
Each area of the care plan had a personalised risk assessment. These identified risks and described the measures and interventions to be taken to ensure people were protected from the risk of harm. The care plans we viewed also showed us that people’s health was monitored and referrals were made to other health care professionals where necessary, for example their GP, community nurse or optician.
Our observations during the inspection showed us that people who used the service were supported by sufficient numbers of staff to meet their individual needs.
Records showed staff were supported and able to maintain and develop their skills through training and development opportunities. The staff we spoke with confirmed they attended a range of valuable learning opportunities. They told us they had regular supervisions and appraisals with the manager, where they had the opportunity to discuss their care practice and identify further training needs. Records showed there were robust recruitment processes in place.
We observed how the service administered medicines and how they did this safely. We looked at how records were kept and spoke with the deputy manager about how senior staff were trained to administer medicines and we found that the administering process was safe.
People were actively encouraged to participate in numerous activities that were well thought out, organised, personalised and meaningful to them. We saw staff spending their time positively engaging with people as a group and on a one to one basis in fun and meaningful activities. We saw evidence that people were supported to go out regularly too.
We saw people were encouraged to eat and drink sufficient amounts to meet their needs. We observed people being offered a varied selection of drinks and snacks. The daily menu that we saw was reflective of people’s dietary needs, likes and dislikes and offered varied choices.
We saw a complaints and compliments procedure was in place. This provided information on the action to take if someone wished to make a complaint and what they should expect to happen next. The compliments that we looked at were very complimentary to the care staff, management and the service as a whole.
We found an effective quality assurance survey took place regularly and we looked at the results. The service had been reviewed through a range of internal audits. We saw that the local authority contract team visited the service as well as the local infection control team and we noted that action had been taken to improve the service or put right any issues found.
We found people who used the service and their representatives were regularly asked for their views about the care and service they received at meetings and via surveys.
We found that the registered manager ensured that the service made good links with the local community and public resources across the county to benefit the people who used the service.
People also had their rights respected and access to advocacy services if needed.
This inspection took place on 12 January 2015 and was unannounced. This meant the staff and the provider did not know we would be visiting. Eden Cottage Care Home was last inspected by CQC on 24 September 2013 and was compliant.
The home had a registered manager in place. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission (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 2008 and associated Regulations about how the service is run.
Eden Cottage Care Home is a family run care home for older people. The home is a large extended bungalow with accommodation for 20 people all with an ensuite facility. The home is in a quiet residential area of Darlington. On the day of our inspection there were 17 people using the service.
There were sufficient numbers of staff on duty in order to meet the needs of people using the service. The provider had an effective recruitment and selection procedure in place and carried out relevant checks when they employed staff.
Training records were up to date and staff received regular supervisions and appraisals, which meant that staff were properly supported to provide care to people who used the service.
People who used the service and their relatives were complimentary about the standard of care at Eden Cottage Care Home. They told us, “I like it here”, “Staff are very helpful” and “I am very happy with the care provided.”
The layout of the building provided adequate space for people with walking aids or wheelchairs to mobilise safely around the home and was suitably designed for people with dementia type conditions.
CQC monitors the operation of the Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS) which applies to care homes. The Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS) is part of the Mental Capacity Act 2005. They aim to make sure that people in care homes, hospitals and supported living are looked after in a way that does not inappropriately restrict their freedom. We discussed DoLS with the manager and looked at records. The manager was fully aware of the recent changes in legislation and the Supreme Court ruling. We found the provider was following the requirements of DoLS.
We found evidence of mental capacity assessments or best interest decision making in the care records. Staff were following the Mental Capacity Act 2005 for people who lacked capacity to make particular decisions and the provider had made applications under the Mental Capacity Act Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards for people being restricted of their liberty.
People were protected against the risks associated with the unsafe use and management of medicines.
We saw staff supporting and helping to maintain people’s independence. People were encouraged to care for themselves where possible. Staff treated people with dignity and respect.
People had access to food and drink throughout the day and we saw staff supporting people in the dining room at lunch time when required.
The home had a programme of activities in place for people who used the service.
All the care records we looked at showed people’s needs were assessed before they moved into the home. Care plans and risk assessments were in place when required and daily records were up to date. Care plans were written in a person centred way and reviewed regularly.
We saw records of visits by healthcare professionals, such as GP’s, district nurse, chiropodist, dentist, best interest assessor, speech and language therapist and physiotherapist. Records for weight, malnutrition universal screening tool (MUST) which is a five-step screening tool to identify if adults are malnourished or at risk of malnutrition and waterlow which assesses the risk of a person developing a pressure ulcer were completed regularly and were up to date.
People using the service, their relatives, visitors and stakeholders were asked about the quality of the service provided.
The home's new chef had developed new menus with the people at the home and was working with care staff to ensure people's nutritional needs were met. One person told us; 'Since he's come I'm really happy with the food'.
We observed lunch in one of the dining rooms and saw staff spend time with people and they supported them with dignity and respect. Staff had received appropriate training and there was a supervision and appraisal system in place.
There was a quality monitoring system in place and the home's management were involved on a day to day basis in the running of the home. We saw records were held securely and for people living at Eden Cottage and staff members they were up-to-date and reflected individuals' needs.