21 February 2023
During an inspection looking at part of the service
Orchard House Residential Care Home is a residential care home without nursing, providing personal care for up to 33 older people including those living with dementia. At the time of the inspection 20 people were being supported. Orchard House has accommodation across two floors, in one adapted building.
People’s experience of using this service and what we found
Improvements had been made to the management of people's medicines so that they received their medication safely. Staff had received further training and had their competencies checked to ensure safe practice.
There was a new manager in post who was being supported by an outside consultant to drive improvements at the service. The provider's quality assurance systems and processes had been overhauled and improved to ensure they were more effective. This meant the registered manager and the provider had better oversight of the service. Many of these systems were newly implemented and needed time to become embedded into staff practice so they could be assessed for their effectiveness.
People received safe care and support and they told us they felt safe living at Orchard House. Staff understood safeguarding procedures and were confident in reporting any concerns. Risks to people's safety were assessed and well managed, and people’s care plans detailed current risks and individual needs.
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.
There were sufficient numbers of staff who were safely recruited to meet people's needs. Infection control measures were robustly followed, and staff had access to sufficient PPE.
People, relatives and staff were very positive about the new manager and the improvements that had been made at the service so far. Staff felt well supported and said the registered manager was open and approachable. The service worked in partnership with outside agencies.
For more details, please see the full report which is on the CQC website at www.cqc.org.uk
Rating at last inspection and update
The last rating for this service was Requires Improvement (published 15 November 2022) and there were breaches of regulation. 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 was no longer in breach of regulations.
Why we inspected
We undertook this focused inspection to check that the provider had followed their action plan and to confirm they now met legal requirements. This report only covers our findings in relation to the Key Questions of Safe and Well-led which contain those requirements.
The ratings from the previous comprehensive inspection for those key questions, not looked at on this occasion were used in calculating the overall rating at this inspection. The overall rating for the service has changed to Good.
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.
Follow up
We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service, which will help inform when we next inspect.