Abbey View

Updated 27 September 2023

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. We checked whether the provider was meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Act. We looked at the overall quality of the service and provided a rating for the service under the Health and Social Care Act 2008.

As part of this inspection we looked at the infection control and prevention measures in place. This was conducted so we can understand the preparedness of the service in preventing or managing an infection outbreak, and to identify good practice we can share with other services.

Inspection team

The inspection was carried out by 1 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. A second Expert by Experience telephoned relatives of people using the service following our inspection.

Service and service type

Abbey View is a ‘care home’. People in care homes receive accommodation and nursing and/or personal care as a single package under one contractual agreement dependent on their registration with us. Abbey View is a care home with nursing care. CQC regulates both the premises and the care provided, and both were looked at during this inspection.

Registered Manager

This provider is required to have a registered manager to oversee the delivery of regulated activities at this location. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission to manage the service. Registered managers and providers are legally responsible for how the service is run, for the quality and safety of the care provided and compliance with regulations. At the time of our inspection there was a registered manager in post.

Notice of inspection

This inspection was unannounced.

What we did before inspection

We reviewed information we had received about the service since the last inspection. We sought feedback from professionals who work with the service. We used the information the provider sent us in the provider information return (PIR). This is information providers are required to send us annually with key information about their service, what they do well, and improvements they plan to make. We used all this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection

We spoke with 9 people and 18 friends or relatives at Abbey View, we spoke with an additional 8 relatives on the phone after our visits. We spoke with 7 staff including regional managers, the registered manager, care staff and the clinical lead. We emailed requests for feedback to the staff team and received 25 responses.

We requested feedback from 12 professionals involved with Abbey View and received 6 responses.

A range of records were reviewed including 3 people’s care records and multiple medicines administration records. We also saw documents relating to the management of the service including health and safety records and audits.

Updated 27 September 2023

About the service

Abbey View is a residential care home providing personal and nursing care to up to 52 people. The service provides support to people over 2 floors in purpose-built premises. At the time of our inspection there were 44 people using the service.

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

Abbey View provided an exceptional service for people living with life limiting neurological conditions. The home had developed an excellent partnership with a local hospice, working collaboratively to provide staff with up-to-date training to suit people’s individual care needs. As a result, people had been provided with outstanding care and support leading to an outstanding quality of life. The provider had supported several people with specialist care resulting in well-managed health and well-being.

Innovative communication methods were in use and information could be provided in different formats to promote understanding and enable people losing their previous communication skills to maintain relationships and make choices.

There were a wide range of opportunities for people to get involved in activities that suited their individual wishes, this meant people could live life as full as possible.

People, relatives and staff told us the home was exceptionally well-led. We received only positive feedback about the management team, and recent work by them and their staff team had further improved staff morale and the atmosphere in the service. Governance was well-embedded into the running of the service. Robust audits highlighted good practice and areas where improvements were needed to ensure sustained outstanding care. The home ensured continuous learning by reviewing accidents and incidents to prevent them from happening again. Notifications to CQC had been made as required and the provider was open and honest with people and their relatives.

Without exception people and their relatives believed Abbey View to be safe. Staff had participated in safety related training included safeguarding training to keep people safe and this was annually updated. Risks to people's health, safety and wellbeing were assessed and measures put in place to minimise the likely hood of harm. This enabled people to live their lives to the full.

A robust nutritional strategy and measures to improve the dining experience at Abbey View had extremely positive results and now few people were at risk of malnutrition. Work on other areas such as falls management and use of a deterioration and escalation tool had further improved people’s experiences.

Extensive analysis of call-bell data had ensured people received the support they needed in a timely manner. There was ongoing work to further improve responses to people with staff pre-empting people’s calls when possible.

Holistic assessments and person-centred care plans were in place for people and there was evidence to show these were regularly reviewed and updated. Innovative records, including the 10 most important things to know about a person and ‘this is me’, provided staff with insight into people.

Sufficient staff were deployed to meet people’s needs and agency staff use had significantly reduced due to recruitment. Staff were safely recruited.

The premises were exceptionally clean and infection prevention and control practice was strong. Medicines were safely managed, and people’s medicines were administered as and when prescribed.

Staff training was ongoing, from attending the providers induction academy, to updates and supportive supervisions, staff were constantly learning and improving their knowledge and skills.

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.

End of life care was provided in a compassionate way and advanced care plans were developed to ensure people and their relatives could receive care as they wanted it.

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 4 July 2019).

Why we inspected

This inspection was prompted by a review of the information we held about this service.

You can read the report from our last comprehensive inspection, by selecting the ‘all reports’ link for Abbey View on our website at www.cqc.org.uk.

Follow up

We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service, which will help inform when we next inspect.