Background to this inspection
Updated
16 March 2022
We carried out this inspection under Section 60 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 as part of our regulatory functions. This inspection was planned to check whether the provider is meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Health and Social Care Act 2008.
As part of CQC’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic we are looking at how services manage infection control and visiting arrangements. This was a targeted inspection looking at the infection prevention and control measures the provider had in place. We also asked the provider about any staffing pressures the service was experiencing and whether this was having an impact on the service.
This inspection took place on 9th February 2022 and was announced. We gave the service 24 hours' notice of the inspection.
Updated
16 March 2022
About the service: Four Seasons is a residential care home in Gloucestershire that provides personal care for up to 21 older people, some of whom are living with dementia. At the time of our inspection 16 people were using the service.
People's experience of using this service:
•The provider had a clear vision for the service. There were systems in place to monitor the quality and risks in the service, ensure staff kept up to date with good practice and to seek people's views.
• Staff morale was low. Staff told us they did not always feel confident to challenge more senior staff regarding concerns they might have as they did not feel their views were always listened to and respected. They also told us they had limited opportunities to feed back to the provider as staff meetings had not taken place regularly and staff surveys were not completed. The provider assured us they would take action to improve the staff morale.
• Despite staff’s concerns with the service’s leadership we found staff to be hard working, caring and committed and people had consistently received safe and personalised care.
• People felt safe and were protected from avoidable harm by staff who understood how to keep them safe.
• Staff supported people to take their medicines safely and understood how to prevent the spread of infection.
• People were empowered to decide how and when their care was provided. 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 were supported to maintain relationships with people important to them, including others living in the home.
• People’s needs were assessed to ensure they could be met by the service. Staff had a good knowledge of how to support people.
• Staff were recruited safely, and there were enough staff to meet people’s assessed needs.
• People, relatives and health professionals told us the care provided was effective and people experienced positive outcomes.
• Staff respected people’s rights to privacy and dignity and promoted their independence.
• Systems were in place to manage and respond to any complaints or concerns raised.
For more details, please see the full report which is on the CQC website at www.cqc.org.uk
Rating at last inspection: At our last comprehensive inspection of this service in February 2016, we rated the service as 'Good'. At this inspection the service was rated as ‘Requires Improvement’ in Well Led and remains ‘Good’ in all other areas and therefore ‘Good’ overall.
Why we inspected: This was a planned inspection based on the date and the rating of the previous inspection.
Follow up: We will continue to monitor intelligence we receive about the service until we return to visit as per our inspection programme. If any concerning information is received we may inspect sooner. We will ask the provider to keep us updated on the progress made to improve the rating of the key question ‘Is the service Well-led?’ to at least Good.