This was the first comprehensive inspection carried out at Eden House since the home was registered by CQC in October 2013.
Eden House provides care for up to 53 older people. Nursing care is not provided. The home has a residential unit on the ground floor for 27 people and a dementia care unit on the first floor for 26 people.
We saw very spacious communal areas comprising of several smaller lounges and dining areas.
All bedrooms had en-suite facilities. All areas throughout the home including, bathroom and WCs had been designed to accommodate people’s health, physical and wellbeing needs. For example,
24 hour free internet access, computers in the library and a direct dial telephone in every room.
There was also an integrated music system in every room including the bathrooms. All furniture and fittings were highly attractive and designed to a very high standard. People had easy access to very attractive landscaped gardens with walkways and seating. Many bedrooms on the ground floor had direct access to the gardens. We found the provider had considered the design of the building and put arrangements in place to ensure the premises met people’s needs. People described the home as, “Absolutely luxurious, “Five star hotel” and, “I never thought I would live in a place like this, it’s so beautiful.” This meant the provider had put in place facilities to support and improve the quality of life for people living in the home. When we inspected the dementia care unit, we saw that a tremendous amount of work and effort had taken place since the unit opened to create a dementia friendly environment
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 and has the legal responsibility for meeting the requirements of the law; as does the provider.’ We found the service to be extremely well led.
There were sufficient numbers of staff on duty in order to meet the needs of people using the service. The provider had an effective recruitment and selection procedure in place and carried out robust checks when they employed staff. We found staff treated people with dignity, respect, kindness and compassion. People had contributed to how the service was managed and some were involved in the recruitment of staff.
We saw evidence that thorough investigations had been carried out in response to safeguarding incidents or allegations and these had also been reported to CQC by the provider.
We saw a copy of the provider’s complaints policy and procedure and saw that complaints had been fully investigated with a written response to the complainant.
We saw comprehensive medication audits were carried out regularly by the management team.
Training records were up to date and staff received regular supervisions, appraisals and a personal development plan was also completed, which meant that staff were properly supported to provide care to people who used the service. The provider opened its own training academy in January 2015 for internal and external courses; it has a training kitchen and a bedroom for hands on training and had multimedia facilities for staff to use. The academy is overseen by a training manager. Staff at Eden House told us the training facilities within the academy were excellent.
We saw staff supporting people in the dining rooms at lunch and a variety of choices of food and drinks were being offered. We found the provider had implemented innovative pureed food techniques based on research and success within the organisation since December 2014. People told us this had made a big difference to their lives, they told us the meals tasted better and were very well presented.
We saw evidence that the service had sustained outstanding practice, development and improvement since the home opened. We saw leadership in the service worked towards, and had achieved outstanding practices to provide a quality service that contributed to the development of best practice for people who used the service. Staff told us they had encompassed these changes and new ideas that had been introduced by the provider such as new techniques for pureed foods, oral care and with the opening of the new training academy. Staff recognised the importance of new concepts of care and these had motivated them to aim for continuous improvement.
All of the care records we looked at contained care plan agreement forms, which had been signed by the person who used the service or a family member.
The home was clean, spacious and suitably adapted for the people who used the service.
CQC monitors the operation of the Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS) which applies to care homes. The Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS) are part of the Mental Capacity Act 2005. They aim to make sure that people in care homes, hospitals and supported living are looked after in a way that does not inappropriately restrict their freedom. We discussed DoLS with the registered manager and looked at records. We found the provider was following legal requirements in the DoLS.
People who used the service, and family members, were extremely complimentary about the standard of care provided. They told us they and their family member were involved in all decisions about the care, treatment and support they received.
We saw staff supporting and helping to maintain people’s independence. We saw staff treated people with dignity, compassion and respect and people were encouraged to remain as independent as possible.
We saw that the home had a full programme of activities in place for people who used the service, including meaningful activities for people living with dementia. We saw people were encouraged and supported to remain involved in community life.
All the care records we looked at showed people’s needs were assessed before they moved into the home and we saw care plans were written in a person centred way and people using the service were consulted and included in decisions about all aspects of their care. People confirmed their wishes and preferences were respected.
The provider had a robust quality assurance system in place and gathered information about the quality of their service from a variety of sources including people who used the service and their family and friends. We saw the provider strived through feedback to sustain continuous improvement.