Abbeydale Residential Care Home - Bury

Updated 2 February 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 Care Act 2008.

As part of this inspection we looked at the infection control and prevention measures in place. This was conducted so we can understand the preparedness of the service in preventing or managing an infection outbreak, and to identify good practice we can share with other services.

Inspection team

The inspection was carried out by 2 inspectors, a medicines 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

Abbeydale Residential Care Home is a 'care home'. People in care homes receive accommodation and nursing or personal care as a single package under one contractual agreement. CQC regulates both the premises and the care provided, and both were looked at during this inspection.

Registered Manager

The service is required to have a registered manager. 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 and for the quality and safety of the care provided.

At the time of our inspection there was not a registered manager in post. The service had a new manager who had been in post since June 2022, they were in the process of registering with the Care Quality Commission. This means the provider is 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 before the inspection

We reviewed the information we held about the service, including statutory notifications received and we sought feedback from the local authority. The provider did not complete the required Provider Information Return (PIR). This is information providers are required to send us annually with key information about the service, what it does well and improvements they plan to make. Please see the well-led section of the full inspection report for further details. We used all this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection

We spoke with 10 people and 2 visiting relatives. We also spoke with the manager, deputy manager and 2 care workers. We reviewed 4 care plans, which included risk assessments, and 2 staff files, which included pre-employment checks. We looked at other documents such as medicine and quality assurance records.

After the inspection

We continued to seek clarification from the provider to validate evidence found.

Updated 2 February 2023

About the service

Abbeydale Residential Care Home – Bury is a residential care home providing personal or nursing care to up to 32 people. The service provides support to older people some of whom may be living with dementia and/or physical disability. At the time of our inspection there were 27 people using the service.

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

Improvements had been made to the service. Systems and processes had been introduced for the reporting and recording of issues related to safeguarding, accidents and incidents. The new management team and wider staff group fully understood their individual and collective responsibilities in this area.

The management of medicines had improved. People received their prescribed medicines when they needed them. The service worked in partnership with other professionals, and the community when able to do so. However, the home’s medicines policy and procedure were not available for staff to access when we inspected. We recommend the policies are reviewed and made available.

Although on the day of inspection we found there were enough staff available, the layout of the building meant there were occasions staff were not available to assist people in their bedrooms. We have made a recommendation about the deployment of staff.

People were assessed prior to moving into the service and were supported by staff with a good level of knowledge and skills. We have made a recommendation about recognising and responding to conditions that are likely to deteriorate.

People care plans had been updated since our last inspection. However, there was further scope to make these care plans much more person-centred. Activities at the home had improved, with a new activities co-ordinator recruited. People we spoke with felt the activities within the home could be improved further and the manager confirmed activities would be strengthened.

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 provider had made improvements to staff training and competency checks to ensure staff had the skills, knowledge and competence to care for people safely. Staff supervision sessions were not yet fully embedded; however, a plan was in place and staff we spoke with felt supported.

The provider's quality assurance processes had improved and were effective in driving in improvements across the service. This was evident in the premises, fire safety and review of incidents and accidents to ensure people received a safe service. However, the registered provider needed to implement their own governance checks to ensure they had robust oversight of the managers new governance systems.

The home had a new manager in post who had worked at the home for approximately 7 months at the time of our inspection. The feedback we received was positive regarding the changes they made since taking up the role. The current staff team spoke of a positive culture at the home, with good team work throughout.

Rating at the last inspection and update

The last rating for the service was requires improvement [published July 2022] and there were breaches of regulations. The provider completed an action plan after the last inspection to show what they would do and by when to improve. At this inspection we found improvements had been made and the provider had met the requirements of the warning notice regarding Regulation 17.

At this inspection we found improvements had been made and the provider was no longer in breach of regulations.

Why we inspected

This inspection was prompted by a review of the information we held about this service.

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 this service has changed from requires improvement to good based on the findings of this inspection.

Follow up

We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service, which will help inform when we next inspect. If we receive any concerning information we may inspect sooner.