Abbeydale Residential is a ‘care home’. People in care homes receive accommodation and nursing or personal care as single package under one contractual agreement. CQC regulates both the premises and the care provided, and both were looked at during this inspection. This service provides accommodation and personal care for up to 36 older people. On the day of our inspection there were 32 people living at the service. Bedrooms are spread over three floors and most have en-suite bathrooms. There are also several communal areas and a large private garden. The home is situated in the town of Ilkley. The service had a registered manager in place. 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 requirements in the Health and Social Care Act 2008 and associated Regulations about how the service is run.
The inspection took place on 21 May 2018 and was unannounced.
At our last inspection we rated the service good. However the safe domain was rated requires improvement because we found that medicines were not always managed in a safe way. At this inspection we found improvements had been made to the way medicines were managed which means the safe domain is now rated as good. We also saw strong evidence to demonstrate that the entire staff team had worked exceptionally hard to ensure they continuously built upon the good standards we saw at our last inspection. The quality of care provided was exceptionally high and truly personalised. We also saw the leadership was extremely proactive, highly responsive to the needs of people and consistently true to their strong vision and values. We therefore concluded that the service had improved to meet the distinctive and exceptional characteristics of an outstanding service in the caring, responsive and well led domains.
People were cared for by staff who were extremely kind, highly compassionate and dedicated to ensuring people received an outstanding quality of care. Staff had an excellent attention to detail and took simple but effective actions to ensure people received a very high standard of personalised care.
Staff developed exceptionally positive caring and compassionate relationships with people which enabled them to be highly attentive to people’s needs. They found creative ways to support people to live a full and independent life. Staff’s highly dedicated approach was reinforced by robust training and technical expertise.
People were genuinely at the heart of the service. The philosophy of care was very inclusive. People were actively consulted and involved in the day to day running of the service and their needs and preferences shaped care delivery. Without exception, people told us that staff listened to their views and made them feel that their opinions mattered.
Staff had the utmost respect for the people they cared for and took great care to ensure people’s dignity and privacy was consistently maintained.
The provider, registered manager and all staff worked extremely hard to promote a welcoming, relaxed, and calm atmosphere in the home. They ensured everyone who lived at the service or who visited was made to feel part of the ‘Abbeydale family.’
The end of life care ethos at the home was one of exceptionally sensitivity, compassion and empathy.
The service had a strong vision and effective values. They had a clear philosophy of care which was centred around ‘Excellence comes as standard.’ Staff at every level were fully committed to ensuring they were true to their values and this ethos in every aspect of their work.
The registered manager had extremely high standards and was highly proactive. They worked in partnership with other organisations and utilised best practice to positively enhance staff practices and further improve care quality. Our observations and discussions with people led us to conclude that they were highly effective in their role.
The provider and registered manager worked very hard to ensure the staff team were happy in their work. Without exception all of the staff we spoke with told us they enjoyed working at the service and would be happy for their relatives to be cared for at Abbeydale.
Governance systems were focused upon continuous improvement and ensuring effective outcomes for people.
Risks to people’s safety and wellbeing were managed in a personalised and safe way. Staff were skilled in balancing positive risk taking with the need to keep people safe.
People told us they felt safe and effective systems were in place to protect people from the risk of abuse.
The provider had acted upon the feedback in our last inspection report and improved the way medicines were managed at the home. Medicines were managed in a safe and personalised way.
Sufficient numbers of staff were working in the home to ensure people received prompt care and support. Staff had time to chat with people as well as completing care tasks. Staff were recruited safely to help ensure they were of suitable character to work with vulnerable people.
The home was clean, well maintained and suitable for it’s purpose as a care home. The provider took people’s needs and preferences into account when adapting and decorating the environment. Overall we found the environment was safely maintained with checks and control measures in place to reduce potential risks. However, a more comprehensive fire risk assessment was required. The registered manager arranged for this to be completed.
Meal times were a real occasion in the home and people received high quality, varied and nutritious meals. People had a say in what food and drink they consumed and were regularly offered choices. Nutritional risks were well managed and staff had a good understanding of how to meet peoples’ specific dietary needs.
People were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff supported them in the least restrictive way possible. People’s consent was sought before care and support was offered. We found the service was compliant with the requirements of the Mental Capacity Act (MCA) and Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS).
The service worked well with a range of health professionals to deliver effective care. Health professionals provided positive feedback about the standard of care provided and told us staff adapted their approach to ensure they met peoples’ changing needs.