Meadowside Residential Home

Updated 2 May 2019

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. This inspection was planned to check whether the provider was meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Act, to look at the overall quality of the service, and to provide a rating for the service under the Care Act 2014.

Inspection team:

One adult social care inspector carried out this inspection.

Service and service type:

Meadowside Residential Home is a care home registered to provide accommodation and support for up to 11 people with learning disabilities. People in care homes receive accommodation and nursing or personal care as single package under one contractual agreement. CQC regulates both the premises and the care provided, and both were looked at during this inspection.

The service had a manager registered with the Care Quality Commission. This means that they and the provider are legally responsible for how the service is run and for the quality and safety of the care provided.

Notice of inspection:

The inspection was unannounced.

What we did:

When planning our inspection, we looked at information we held about the service. This included notifications about significant incidents which the provider is required to inform us about by law. The provider had submitted a Provider Information Return (PIR). This is a form that asks to give some key information about the service, what the service does well and improvements they plan to make.

We spoke with six people and two relatives. We spoke with the registered manager, team leader and four staff. We spoke with one healthcare professional and received feedback form one other healthcare professional.

We looked at three people’s care records, three staff recruitment files and other records relating to the management of the service including quality assurance.

Updated 2 May 2019

About the service: Meadowside Residential Home is a care home for mostly older people with learning disabilities. The service was a large home, bigger than most domestic style properties. It was registered for the support of up to 11 people. 11 people were using the service. This is larger than current best practice guidance. However, the size of the service having a negative impact on people was mitigated by the building design fitting into the residential area and the other large domestic homes of a similar size. There were deliberately no identifying signs outside to indicate it was a care home. Staff were also discouraged from wearing anything that suggested they were care staff when coming and going with people.

People’s experience of using this service:

People had active and fulfilled lives and were part of the local community. Staff were highly motivated and enabled people to achieve their goals and dreams. People were empowered to make their own choices. The service had been developed and designed in line with the principles and values that underpin Registering the Right Support and other best practice guidance.

Without exception, people and their relatives told us staff were kind and caring. People told us “I’m very happy because everyone’s very kind to me” and “A home is not the building it’s also the people in it.”

People felt safe and comfortable when staff were with them. People were kept safe as potential risks had been assessed and managed.

People’s needs were met by staff who had received regular training and support. People were treated with respect and staff understood how to protect people’s rights.

People were involved in making decisions about their care and supported to maintain their independence. Care plans contained up-to-date information about each person’s needs and preferences. People received personalised care from staff who knew them well.

People were involved in the running of the service, expressed their views, and made decisions about areas such as meal choices, the environment, and activities.

There were systems in place to monitor the quality of the service.

The registered manager was committed to improving care where possible and had developed effective working relationships with other professionals and agencies. The service had been nominated for The Outstanding Care Awards for Devon and Cornwall 2019 in the categories of ‘care home manager of the year’ and ‘care home of the year’.

The service met the characteristics for a rating of “good” in four key questions we inspected and “outstanding” in one key question. Therefore, our overall rating for the service after this inspection was “good”.

More information is in the full report.

Rating at last inspection: Good (The report was published on 5 October 2016).

Why we inspected: This was a planned inspection based on the previous rating.

Follow up: We will continue to monitor intelligence we receive about this service until we return to visit as part of our re-inspection programme. If we have any concerns, we may inspect sooner.

For more details, please see the full report which is on the CQC website at www.cqc.org.uk