Archived: Abbeydale Residential Care Home - London

The home is a large terrace house set in a residential area of Palmers Green, North London. Bedrooms are located across two floors with an accessible rear garden.

We found the following examples of good practice.

Staff had been appropriately trained in the use of PPE and infection control processes and were observed to be following social distancing guidance.

To reduce the risk to people using the service staff were sharing observations about people’s health routinely. This reduced the need for external visitors to the home.

The home was following current visiting guidance to ensure visitors did not introduce and spread COVID-19. A system of allocated appointments was developed for relatives visiting in residents' rooms and in the visiting pod to ensure the risk from visitors to the home were minimised.

Information and instructions for visitors were clearly displayed and explained by the receptionist upon arrival. Infection prevention posters were clearly displayed within each unit of the home.

The provider had a COVID-19 risk assessment in place which covered admissions to the home from local hospitals. A COVID-19 test was required before admission. Any new residents had a period of isolation when first arriving at the home.

We were assured that this service met good infection prevention and control guidelines.

The home is a large terrace house set in a residential area of Palmers Green, North London. Bedrooms are located across two floors with a well-kept and accessible rear garden.

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

Feedback from people and relatives was positive. Relatives felt people were safe and well cared for at Abbeydale. People’s risks were assessed and staff given clear guidance. We saw people were given their medicines safely and on time. There were safely recruited, regular staff which meant people were able to build a rapport and good working relationship with them.

Relatives felt staff were well trained and we saw records of regular staff training. People were fully involved in choosing what they wanted to eat and both people and relatives were complimentary of the chef and the quality of food that was provided. People were actively supported to maintain their health and well-being through routine and specialist healthcare appointments.

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.

People greeted staff warmly and staff often sat and chatted with people. Relatives felt there was a family atmosphere within the home and staff knew people well. We saw people were fully supported in following their faith if they wished. Staff promoted people’s independence in ways that meant something to the individual. There was a full activities timetable which people were able to take part in.

There was an open and inclusive culture within the home. People, staff and healthcare professionals were positive about how well the home was run. Feedback noted that communication was good and ‘nothing is too much trouble’. People experienced good care due to the good management oversight. There were various audits and ways of gaining feedback completed by the manager. Staff worked in partnership with other healthcare agencies to improve and maintain people’s quality of life.

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 26 April 2017).

Why we inspected

This was a planned inspection based on the previous rating.

Follow up

We will continue to monitor the service to ensure that people receive safe, compassionate, high quality care. Further inspections will be planned for future dates.

Abbeydale is a 21 bedded residential home providing care for older people, including people living with dementia. On the day of the inspection, there were 20 people using the service.

The service had a registered manager. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission to manage the service. Like registered providers, they are 'registered persons'. Registered persons have legal responsibility for meeting the legal requirements in the Health and Social Care Act 2008 and the associated regulations on how the service is run.

People told us they were well treated at the home and risks to their safety had been identified and ways to mitigate these risks had been recorded in people’s care plans.

Staff were aware that the people they supported were vulnerable and they understood their responsibilities to keep people safe from potential abuse.

There were systems in place to ensure medicines were handled and stored securely and administered to people safely and appropriately.

The home maintained adequate staffing levels to support people.

We saw friendly, caring and supportive interactions between staff and people and staff knew the needs and preferences of the people using the service. Care plans were person centred and reviewed regularly.

People told us they enjoyed the food provided and that they were offered choices of what they wanted to eat.

People had regular access to healthcare professionals such as doctors, dentists, chiropodists and opticians.

We saw evidence of a comprehensive staff induction and on-going training programme. Staff had regular supervisions and annual appraisals. Staff were safely recruited with necessary pre-employment checks carried out.

People were supported to engage in regular activities.

Quality assurance processes were in place to monitor the quality of care delivered.

Further information is in the detailed findings below.

People we spoke with told us they were happy with the care they received. One person told us: "The staff are great here. They go out of their way to help". Other people who were not so able to provide spoken views nevertheless demonstrated that they felt comfortable and familiar with the staff team and the care staff were able to demonstrate that they were familiar with people's support needs. This was demonstrated by the way staff spoke to people and in how they provided personal assistance, including during mealtimes.

People who use this service told us that they were happy living at this setting. They told us that staff were kind and treated them with respect.

People who use the service were positive about the care and treatment they received at

the home. They confirmed that staff assisted them when they needed support with their care and that staff were very helpful.

People also told us they had good access to health care professionals such as doctors, district nurses, dentists and chiropodists.

Observation and conversations with people showed us that they felt safe at this home. They also told us that they felt happy to talk to staff about any issue that might occur.