9 June 2023
During an inspection looking at part of the service
Roche Abbey is a residential care home providing personal and nursing care for up to 67 people. At the time of our inspection there were 37 people living at the home. Some people using the service were living with dementia.
People’s experience of using this service and what we found
There were quality monitoring systems in place. However, these were not always effective. Some areas for improvement we identified during the site visit were not identified as part of the providers quality monitoring systems. For example, infection control shortfalls and management of risk. We identified risks in relation to people's nutrition and weight loss were not managed effectively.
We have made a recommendation about the management of risks.
We found enough staff on duty on the day of our site visit. The registered manager used a dependency tool to determine staffing levels and we saw this was followed. However, we observed staff could be task orientated with set times for specific support, rather than care being person-centred.
The home generally, was visibly clean. However, we found some areas that were not clean. Mattresses, pressure cushions and chairs were stained and dirty and kitchenettes required a thorough clean. The registered manager confirmed action had been taken following our inspection.
People received medication as prescribed. Staff received training and competency assessments. However, we identified some minor documentation issues that had not been picked up by the audit systems. These were addressed by the registered manager following our site visit.
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. Staff were aware of what actions to take to safeguard people from the risk of abuse. The manager kept a record of safeguarding concerns and monitored the outcome. Accidents and incidents were analysed and evidence to show what actions had been taken to mitigate future incidents.
People and relatives spoke highly of the registered manager and felt she was approachable and listened to any concerns or issues raised. Most staff told us they worked well as a team and were supported, however, some felt the registered manager could be more visible on the units.
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 February 2022). The service remains rated requires improvement. This service has been rated requires improvement for the last three consecutive inspections
Why we inspected
This was a planned inspection.
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.
This was a focused inspection. For those key questions not inspected, we used the ratings awarded at the last inspection to calculate the overall rating.
You can see what action we have asked the provider to take at the end of this full report.
You can read the report from our last comprehensive inspection, by selecting the ‘all reports’ link for Roche Abbey on our website at www.cqc.org.uk.
Enforcement
We have identified a breach in relation to governance and leadership.
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 from 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 continue to monitor information we receive about the service, which will help inform when we next inspect.