Charnwood Country Residence

Updated 24 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: This consisted of one 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, that is caring for older people.

Service and service type: Charnwood Country Residence is a ‘care home’. People in care homes receive accommodation and nursing or personal care as single package under one contractual agreement. The Care Quality Commission (CQC) regulates both the premises and the care provided, and both were looked at during this inspection.

The service had a manager registered with CQC. 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. Due to circumstances, there was a new manager, who had started the process of registration with CQC.

Notice of inspection: The inspection was unannounced.

What we did: Before our inspection, we looked at information we held about the service. The provider sent us a Provider Information Return. This is information we require providers to send us to give some key information about the service, what the service does well and improvements they plan to make. We reviewed the information we held about the service, such as notifications we had received from the registered manager. A notification is information about important events, which the service is required to send us by law. We sought feedback from the local authority contract monitoring team and safeguarding team before our visit. We used this information to plan the inspection.

During the inspection, we spoke with ten people who used the service and two of their visitors. We spoke with the provider, the new manager, a team leader, two care workers, the activity coordinator and both chefs. We looked at a range of documents relating to people’s care and the management of the service. These included care records for seven people, medication administration records for eight people, staff training and supervision, staffing rotas, audits and quality assurance reports.

Updated 24 May 2019

About the service: Charnwood Country Residence is a residential care home that can provide personal care and support to a maximum of 27 people. The service was providing personal care to 23 people aged 65 and over at the time of the inspection.

People’s experience of using this service: The provider continues to provide an outstanding service for people. The provider and management team were extremely good at planning and delivering care that was tailored to people’s individual needs and preferences. Care plans and transition programmes for moving into the service were developed for people, which were very comprehensive and met their needs in a truly personalised way. There was a thoughtful and inclusive approach to organising interesting and meaningful occupations and activities for people, which enhanced the quality of their lives. The provider employed a physiotherapist to support people enhance their mobility and an Admiral Nurse (who specialises in dementia care) to provide support and guidance to people living with dementia.

The provider had exceptional leadership qualities and had developed a culture of continual improvement and learning to ensure people received a quality service. The provider has six services; five have been rated Outstanding by the Care Quality Commission (CQC) and one rated Good. The provider developed creative and positive learning experiences for staff, which enhanced their skills and encouraged them to have a thoughtful approach when supporting people. There was a supportive organisational structure and excellent monitoring systems to ensure the provider and senior management knew what was happening in the service. There was a registered manager but due to specific circumstances, a new manager had been appointed and was completing a transition period with the support from the provider.

Staff had developed very positive and meaningful relationships with people. The care provided was compassionate and sensitive to people’s diverse needs. People were respected, were included in decisions and their privacy and independence maintained to a high standard.

People felt safe and could raise concerns. The staff team knew the action to take to safeguard people from the risk of harm and abuse. They supported people to take managed risks and enabled them to live the lifestyle of their choosing. Staff were recruited safely and deployed in sufficient numbers to meet people’s needs.

People’s health and nutritional needs were proactively met. They were supported to take their medicines as prescribed and had access to health professionals when required. The menus provided people with a nutritious and healthy diet, whilst still ensuring there were treats and snacks in-between meals. The provider ensured they worked within mental capacity legislation when people had been assessed as lacking capacity to make their own decisions. When they were able, people were supported to make their own decisions about the care they received. Staff had a good understanding of consent and gave examples of how they obtained this before carrying out care tasks.

Staff received training, supervision and support that helped them to feel confident when supporting people. The environment was very clean and tidy and was suitable for people’s needs.

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

Rating at last inspection: Outstanding (report published 21 July 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 the service until we return to visit as per our re-inspection programme. If any concerning information is received, we may inspect sooner.