Richden Park Care Home

Richden Park is a residential care home providing personal to 34 people aged 65 and over at the time of the inspection. The service can support up to 52 people, some of whom may be living with Dementia.

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

People felt safe and well cared for. People were supported to maintain their independence where possible and were positive about staff’s approach and conduct.

A registered manager was not in post at the time of the inspection. We discussed this with the provider and explained this would impact on the rating for well-led. The provider gave assurances that a suitable registered manager had been recruited and would commence employment in the near future. In the absence of a registered manager, the service was supported by the business development manager, a care and support coordinator and the regional manager.

Medicines were managed safely, although we identified some minor improvements which were required with people’s ‘as and when required ’ medicines to support staff. The provider took immediate action to improve protocols.

Staff were recruited safely and attended a programme of induction before providing care to people.

The provider had oversight of the quality and safety of the service through audits and gathered feedback from staff and stakeholders. This information was used to improve the service.

Checks were carried out regularly to ensure the safety of the premises for people who live there and staff.

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.

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 December 2018).

Why we inspected

We received concerns in relation to the safety of people living at the service and a lack of support with nutrition and hydration. As a result, we undertook a focused inspection to review the key questions of safe and well-led only.

We reviewed the information we held about the service. No areas of concern were identified in the other key questions. We therefore did not inspect them. Ratings from previous comprehensive inspections for those key questions were used in calculating the overall rating at this inspection.

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.

We found no evidence during this inspection that people were at risk of harm from this concern. Please see the safe and well-led sections of this full report.

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

Follow up

We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service until we return to visit as per our re-inspection programme. If we receive any concerning information we may inspect sooner.

About the service: Richden Park Care Home is a residential care home. It was providing personal care for 25 older people at the time of the inspection. Some people may be living with dementia.

Why we inspected: This was a planned inspection based on the rating at the last inspection.

People’s experience of using this service: People told us they felt safe and staff looked after them well; they had access to healthcare professionals for advice and treatment in a timely way when required. People told us staff response to call bells could be quicker sometimes, although this had not affected them in any serious way. We mentioned this to the manager to check out with people to see if there were areas to improve. There were positive comments about the kind and caring approach of staff.

People told us they liked the meals and there were choices and alternatives on the menus. They said they could have snacks and drinks at any time in between meals.

People 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. People told us visitors were welcomed at any time, which helped maintain relationships and friendships.

People were asked for their views about the service on a day to day basis, in care plan meetings and in questionnaires. They had been given information on how to make a complaint and people told us they would speak to staff or the manager if necessary.

Staff received induction, training, supervision and support. The training covered mandatory courses and those specific to the needs of people who used the service, for example dementia care. This helped staff to have the right skills to care for people.

Checks were carried out to make sure the service was safe for people and to see what improvements could be made. Although the service was clean and tidy, parts of the environment required redecoration and some areas, such as the laundry (a separate building away from the main house) needed refurbishing. The manager had a plan for improvements to the service and had been assured by senior management that finances were available.

A full description of our findings can be found in the sections below.

Follow up: We will continue to monitor this service and inspect in line with our re-inspection schedule or sooner if we receive information of concern.

Richden Park is split into two units Brumby and Richden. The service is provided over two floors and offers communal lounge areas, bathroom and toilet facilities, en-suite bedrooms, dining area, kitchen, conservatory, passenger lift, staff area, outside garden space and on-site parking facilities.

The service has 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 requirements in the Health and Social Care Act 2008 and associated Regulations about how the service is run.

This inspection took place on 9 May 2016 and was unannounced. The service was last inspected in March 2015 were we found the registered provider was in breach of the legal requirements relating to premises and equipment and staffing relating to training, supervision and development. At this inspection the registered provider had made improvements and had met the necessary requirements.

Staff understood how to keep people safe and there were policies and procedures to guide staff in how to safeguard people from the risk of harm and abuse. Staff understood how to report potential abuse and had received training to reinforce their understanding. We found people received their medicines as prescribed and staff were appropriately trained with the skills necessary to carry out their role effectively.

Staffing levels were determined according to people’s needs and dependencies. Staff demonstrated a positive understanding of respecting people’s privacy and dignity. Staff had been recruited safely and appropriate checks had been completed prior to them working with vulnerable people.

Although staff felt well supported we found that staff appraisals and supervisions were overdue. We recommended the registered provider made improvement to this area of staff support and development.

Whilst we found the environment was accessible to people with limited mobility and clean and tidy we recommended that improvements were made to the signage in place throughout the service to ensure it was suitable for people living with dementia.

The registered provider was following the principles of the Mental Capacity Act 2005 (MCA) and the registered manager and staff ensured people were not being deprived of their liberty (DoLS). The registered manager had submitted a number of applications to ensure people were not unlawfully restricted.

Staff demonstrated good knowledge and understanding of the needs of the people they were supporting and people told us staff were friendly and caring. People and their relatives were involved in decisions about their care and support and people were supported to make active choices about how they wanted to live their lives.

People who used the service were provided with a varied diet and people spoke highly of the food they received. Staff monitored people’s food and people were supported to access health care and attend appointments when necessary to ensure their health and wellbeing was maintained.

The service offered a range of activities and people were encouraged to participate. The registered provider had a complaints procedure which people could use to raise any concerns or issues. People had personalised care plans which identified potential risks, likes and dislikes and outcomes. Family and friends were welcome to visit and people living at the service were encouraged to maintain family contact.

People told us the leadership at the service was approachable and supportive and people were encouraged to give their views and opinions on the service. The culture at the service was described as inclusive and staff told us they felt valued. The service had an effective auditing system in place to assess and monitor the quality of the service provided.