Abbeyfield Care Home Clitheroe

Updated 14 February 2024

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

An inspector and an Expert by Experience took part in the inspection process. 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

Abbeyfield Care Home Clitheroe 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. Abbeyfield Care Home Clitheroe 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 a registered manager in post.

Notice of inspection

This inspection was unannounced.

Inspection activity started on 13 December 2023 and ended on 9 January 2024. We visited the service on 13 December 2023 and 18 December 2023.

What we did before the inspection

We reviewed information we had received about the service since the last inspection. 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 reviewed information available in the recent Healthwatch report. Healthwatch is an independent consumer champion that gathers and represents the views of the public about health and social care services in England. We used all this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection

During inspection we spoke with 3 people living at the home and 9 relatives about their experience of care provided by Abbeyfield Care Home Clitheroe. We spoke with 11 members of staff including the registered manager, deputy manager, members of the administration team, domestic staff and care staff. We informally observed people's interactions and the care they received. This helped us understand the experiences of people with limited communication.

We observed medication administration and checked medication storage and recording systems. We reviewed a range of records including 4 people's care records and recruitment files for 3 staff.

We looked at records relating to health and safety such as fire safety information, testing records and servicing documents. We checked the environment, equipment, facilities and cleanliness; to determine whether the home was safe and fit for purpose.

We remotely reviewed information relating to the management of the service such as policies and procedures, audits, meeting minutes and rotas. We sought additional evidence and clarification from the service via email.

Updated 14 February 2024

About the service

Abbeyfield Care Home Clitheroe is a residential care home providing accommodation for persons who require nursing or personal care. The service can provide support for up to 40 people; including older people or those living with dementia, a physical disability or sensory impairment. At the time of our inspection there were 39 people using the service.

Not everyone who used the service received personal care. CQC only inspects where people receive personal care. This is help with tasks related to personal hygiene and eating. Where they do, we also consider any wider social care provided.

The property was set over 3 floors with storage and meeting rooms to the top floor. There were several communal areas, some of which had been recently renovated. An accessible rear garden was available for people to enjoy. A lift was available to enable access to upper floors, and aid and adaptions were in place to meet people’s individual mobility needs.

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

Systems and processes kept people safe from harm or abuse. Care records included important information around people’s health and support needs, and risk assessments were completed enabling staff to provide safe and person-centred care. Safety checks were carried out on premises and equipment and the home was clean and well maintained.

Recruitment was safe and staff deployment was effective. Staff told us they received a good level of training and support. One person using the service said, “Staff are very good. They are very nice, and they stay with me a long time. The staff all behave as a team, it’s very nice.” Medicines were managed safely, and we saw evidence that lessons were learnt from incidents and accidents.

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.

The registered manager and staff helped maintain good standards. One person told us, “I wouldn’t want to live anywhere else. I like the home and a lot of the staff. I couldn’t have asked for a better place, my friends and family like it too. I recommend it.” People and relatives knew who to go to if they had a concern and confirmed the registered manager was responsive to issues raised; communication between the home was good.

Staff at different levels helped monitor the quality and safety of care, and action was taken to drive improvement. The provider engaged people, their relatives and staff and promoted positive outcomes. Staff spoke about the registered manager and their colleagues positively and morale was high. A staff member said, “I love my job.” The home worked closely with various professionals to help monitor people’s health and well-being.

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 14 December 2020).

Why we inspected

We undertook this inspection as part of a random selection of services rated Good and outstanding.

For those key questions not inspected, we used the ratings awarded at the last inspection to calculate the overall rating.

You can read the report from our last comprehensive inspection, by selecting the 'all reports' link for Abbeyfield Care Home Clitheroe 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.