17 October 2022
During a routine inspection
Aarondale Care Home is a care home providing personal care for up to 48 older people, including those living with dementia. The service is purpose built and accommodation is over three floors. At the time of the inspection there were 38 people living at the service.
People's experience of using this service and what we found
We found that people’s records did not always evidence their wishes and preferences for end of life care and support. We have made a recommendation about the recording of people’s end of life wishes.
At the last inspection we found the safety, effectiveness and oversight of the service was inadequate, and there were multiple breaches of regulations. Practices at the service placed people at risk of harm. Systems in place to monitor, assess and improve the safety and quality of the service being provided were not robust. People were not supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff were not adequately trained or supported. There were failures in the provider's quality and assurance systems.
At this inspection we checked to see whether improvements had been made and found that they had.
People living at Aarondale Care Home benefited from a service that was committed to driving improvements in order to provide safe, high-quality care and support. The service had responded proactively to the findings at the last inspection and had worked hard to improve both the physical environment and the quality of care provided to people.
Regular health and safety checks were carried out to ensure the home was safe and suitable for people to live in. Risks to people were identified and managed and mitigated by staff to lessen the risk of harm to people.
People told us they enjoyed living at the home and appeared calm and at ease in their surroundings. Both people and their relatives were keen to tell us how well treated they were by staff who were respectful, kind and treated them with the utmost dignity.
Staff recruitment processes ensured staff were safe to work with people and staff received the necessary training and support to help deliver care to people which was tailored to their needs.
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.
A new registered manager had been reinstated since the last inspection and had overhauled governance processes and practices to help provide better oversight of the service, providing a more accurate picture of risks and areas for improvement.
Both the registered manager and the provider helped instil a positive culture which was committed to delivering high-quality care to people, and supported staff to ensure they understood, shared and practiced these values. The registered manager was not averse to challenge any shortfalls in practice that fell below these standards.
Since the last inspection, the management team had worked in collaboration and partnership with other relevant organisations to improve the service and help achieve better and more positive outcomes for people.
Although the service had made significant improvements and were no longer in breach of regulation, further time was required to evidence consistency and longevity of good practices.
For more details, please see the full report which is on the CQC website at www.cqc.org.uk
Rating at last inspection and update
The last rating for this service was inadequate (last report published 16 May 2022). The provider completed an action plan after the last inspection to show what they would do and by when to improve.
At this inspection we found improvements had been made and the provider was no longer in breach of regulations.
The service has been in Special Measures since 16 May 2022. During this inspection the provider demonstrated that improvements have been made. The service is no longer rated as inadequate overall or in any of the key questions. Therefore, this service is no longer in Special Measures.
Why we inspected
We carried out an unannounced comprehensive inspection of this service on 7 March 2022. Breaches of legal requirements were found in relation to safe care and treatment, need for consent, staff training, meeting nutritional and hydration needs and good governance. We also made recommendations in relation to reviewing people's care plans for care and support and staff developing more effective communication skills.
The provider completed an action plan after the last inspection to show what they would do and by when to improve. We undertook this comprehensive inspection to check they had followed their action plan and to confirm they now met legal requirements.
We also 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.
The overall rating for the service has changed from inadequate to requires improvement based on the findings of this inspection.
You can read the report from our last comprehensive inspection, by selecting the ‘all reports’ link for Aarondale Care Home on our website at www.cqc.org.uk
Follow up
We will meet with the provider following this report being published to discuss how they will make changes to ensure they improve their rating to at least good. We will work with the local authority to monitor progress. We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service, which will help inform when we next inspect.