Althorpe Residential Home

Updated 1 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: The inspection was carried out by one inspector on the first day and the inspector and an Expert by Experience on the second day. An Expert by Experience is a person who has personal experience of using or caring for someone who uses this type of care service. Their area of expertise was with older people, people with dementia including those living in residential care.

Service and service type: Althorpe Residential Home 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 the Care Quality Commission (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.

Notice of inspection: The inspection was unannounced on the first day and announced on the second day.

What we did: Before the inspection we checked information, we held about the service. This included notifications the provider had sent us about events or incidents that occurred, and which affected their service or the people who used it. We contacted the local authority’s adult safeguarding, commissioning and quality monitoring team for their feedback, as well as contacting Healthwatch England, the national consumer champion for health and social care, to ask if they had any information to share. We used this information to help plan our inspection.

Some people who used the service were unable to tell us about their experiences. We used the Short Observational Framework for Inspection (SOFI). SOFI is a way of observing care to help us understand the experience of people who could not talk with us. During the inspection, we spoke with six people living at the service and with one visitor and relative. We spoke with the registered manager, deputy manager and cook, with three care staff and the maintenance person.

We reviewed a range of documentation including three people’s care records, medicine administration records (MARs), quality monitoring checks and audits, policies and procedures and three staff recruitment, training, supervision and appraisal records. We also looked at the compliments and complaints received.

Updated 1 May 2019

About the service: Althorpe Residential Home care home is situated in the centre of Althorpe village. The service provides accommodation and personal care for up to 20 people some of whom are living with dementia.

People’s experience of using this service:

Issues found under the safe domain at the last inspection, relating to medicine management, infection prevention and control and the general décor of the service had been addressed.

People were protected from the risk of harm and abuse. Safeguarding procedures guided staff about the action they must take if they suspected abuse was occurring. People had risk assessments in place to identify hazards to their health or wellbeing. Action was taken to reduce risks but maintain people’s independence and choice. There were enough staff to meet people’s needs in a timely way. Incidents and accidents were monitored and corrective action was taken to prevent re-occurrence. Recruitment and medicines management was robust. Infection prevention and control was in place.

Staff undertook training had supervision and a yearly appraisal to help to maintain and develop their skills. This helped staff meet people’s needs.

People had their capacity assessed and were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff supported them in the least restrictive way possible; the policies and systems in the service supported this practice.

Staff were caring and kind. People we spoke with and their relatives confirmed this. Staff provided comfort and support if people became anxious or upset. Information was provided to people in a format that met their needs in line with the Accessible Information Standards.

Staff supported people to meet their health and nutritional needs. People were supported and encouraged to maintain their independence. Staff worked with health care professionals to maintain people’s wellbeing.

People felt able to raise concerns and were confident they would be addressed. There was a good programme of activities in place. End of life care was provided at the service.

The service was well-led. The registered manager supported the staff team and they all worked well together. A range of quality checks and audits were undertaken to monitor the service provided. Action plans were created when shortfalls were found and corrective action was undertaken to improve the service provided. We found the electrical hard wiring five-year certificate had been lost and a duplication could not be gained. This electrical check was undertaken again just after the inspection.

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

Rating at last inspection: Good (Report published October 2016).

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