Blossomfield Grange

Updated 1 March 2023

The inspection

We carried out this inspection under Section 60 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (the Act) as part of our regulatory functions. We checked whether the provider was meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Act. We looked at the overall quality of the service and provided a rating for the service under the Health and Social Care Act 2008.

Inspection team

The inspection was carried out by 1 inspector and an Expert by Experience. An Expert by Experience is a person who has personal experience of using or caring for someone who uses this type of care service.

Service and service type

Blossomfield Grange is a ‘care home’. People in care homes receive accommodation and nursing and/or personal care as a single package under one contractual agreement dependent on their registration with us. Blossomfield Grange is a care home without nursing care. CQC regulates both the premises and the care provided, and both were looked at during this inspection.

Registered Manager

This provider is required to have a registered manager to oversee the delivery of regulated activities at this location. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission to manage the service. Registered managers and providers are legally responsible for how the service is run, for the quality and safety of the care provided and compliance with regulations.

At the time of our inspection there was not a registered manager in post. A new manager had been in post for just over 1 month and had submitted an application to register with us, CQC.

Notice of inspection

This inspection was unannounced.

What we did before the inspection

We reviewed information we had received about the service since the last inspection. We sought feedback from the local authority and professionals who work with the service. We used the information the provider sent us in the provider information return (PIR). This is information providers are required to send us annually with key information about their service, what they do well, and improvements they plan to make. We used all this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection

We visited the location on 30 January and 03 February 2023. We spoke with 12 people who used the service and 2 relatives about their experiences of care. We spoke with 13 members of staff including the manager, regional director, deputy manager, coordinator, senior carer, care assistants, maintenance coordinator, activities assistant and domestic staff.

We reviewed a range of documents. This included 10 people's care records and multiple medicine administration records. We looked at 3 staff files in relation to recruitment. A variety of records relating to the management of the service, including policies and procedures were reviewed.

Updated 1 March 2023

About the service

Blossomfield Grange is a residential care home providing personal care for up to 109 people across 3 different floors. The service provides support to adults, including people living with dementia. At the time of our inspection there were 61 people living at the home. The service was separated into 2 forms of support; Assisted Living and Reminiscence (for people living with dementia).

People’s experience of using this service and what we found

People were supported to remain safe and protected from harm. People’s risks were assessed and care plans put in place to support people in the way they wanted. There were enough trained staff at the service to meet people’s needs, including the safe administration of medicines. Where incidents or accidents occurred, these were investigated and analysed to reduce the risk of reoccurrence.

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 knew people well and offered them choices and control over their care. People’s care plans were personalised to meet their preferences and individual needs. People and relatives knew how to complain about the care they received and the manager ensured any complaints were responded to. People were supported compassionately and effectively when they were nearing the end of their lives.

The manager had effective oversight in the running of the home to ensure the safety and quality of the care people received. Staff were valued and felt supported in their work. People and their representatives were engaged and encouraged to share their experiences of the care provided and action was taken to drive improvement. People were supported to access their local communities and take part in activities which were meaningful to them. The service worked effectively alongside other health and social care professionals to ensure people’s needs were met and their health maintained.

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 the service under the previous provider was Requires Improvement (published 22 July 2019).

Why we inspected

This inspection was prompted by a review of the information we held about this service and due to concerns received about the care and treatment people were receiving and the responsiveness of the management team. As a result, we undertook a focused inspection to review the key questions of Safe, Responsive and Well-led only. For those key questions not inspected, we used the ratings awarded at the last inspection to calculate the overall 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.

The overall rating for the service has changed from Requires Improvement to Good based on the findings of this inspection.

You can read the report from our last comprehensive inspection, by selecting the ‘all reports’ link for Blossomfield Grange 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.