Abbey Dean

Updated 24 August 2018

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, to look at the overall quality of the service, and to provide a rating for the service under the Care Act 2014.

This was a comprehensive inspection which took place on 23 July 2018 and was unannounced. An inspector and an expert by experience visited the home. An expert by experience is a person who has personal experience of using or caring for someone who uses this type of service. The expert by experience had experience of caring for older people and people with dementia.

Before the inspection we reviewed information relating to the home including; correspondence from people and professionals and notifications sent to us by the registered manager. A notification is information about important events which the provider is required to tell us about by law. We also used information the provider sent to us in the Provider Information Return (PIR). This is information we require providers to send us at least once annually to give some key information about the service, what the service does well and improvements they plan to make.

We spoke with the registered manager, three members of staff, two visitors, a health care professional and five people who live at the home. We spent time with people and spoke with them to gain their experiences of living at the home. We also spoke with staff, relatives and visitors to gain their views and experiences of the home.

We looked at three care plans, staff duty rosters, two staff files and reviewed records including those relating to quality assurance, health and safety, safeguarding, infection control, compliments and complaints, medicines, staff training and accidents and incidents. During the inspection we observed the lunch time meal, communal areas and an afternoon activity.

After the inspection; we asked the registered manager to send us a copy of their training records and activity plans. The registered manager ensured this was sent within the requested time frame.

Updated 24 August 2018

Abbey Dean is ‘care home’ that provides personal care for up to 18 people, on the day of inspection there were 16 people living at the home. People in care homes receive accommodation and nursing or personal care as single package under one contractual agreement. CQC regulates both the premises and the care provided, and both were looked at during this inspection. The care home is one adapted building with private bedrooms, shared communal areas and bathrooms. Some people living at the home were living with dementia, frailty or physical disabilities.

At our last inspection we rated the service Good with a breach of regulation 13 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014. This was because a service user had been deprived of their liberty for the purpose of receiving care or treatment without lawful authority. Following the last inspection, we asked the provider to complete an action plan to show what they would do and by when to improve the key question effective, to at least good. At this inspection we found that the registered manager had implemented improvement actions and had met the requirements of regulation 13.

At this inspection we found the evidence continued to support the rating of good and there was no evidence or information from our inspection and ongoing monitoring that demonstrated serious risks or concerns. This inspection report is written in a shorter format because our overall rating of the service has not changed since our last inspection. At this inspection we found the service remained Good.

People remained safe. Staff had a good understanding of safeguarding and there were systems and process in place to keep people safe. There were robust systems in place to manage, administer, store and dispose of medicines. The provider ensured staff were suitable to work at the home before they started. We observed people’s needs being responded to in a timely manner. One person told us “There’s always someone popping in asking if I want a drink or what I want for lunch.” The home was clean and infection control procedures followed.

People’s needs and choices were assessed prior to people moving into the home and regularly thereafter. People are supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff support them in the least restrictive way possible; the policies and systems in the service support this practice. People were supported to maintain a balanced diet. One person told us “The food here is very good”. People continued to be supported to access healthcare services as and when needed. We saw evidence that people had access to a variety of healthcare professionals.

We observed positive interactions between people and staff, staff knew people well and had built trusting relationships. One person told us “The staff are all really kind, you can’t fault them.” People and their relatives, where appropriate, were involved in reviews of their care. One relative told us “We are completely involved in reviewing their care plan, we have an open discussion and our opinions are always considered.” People’s independence continued to be promoted. Staff supported people in a dignified manner and people’s privacy continued to be respected.

Care continued to be personalised to meet the needs of individuals including their care, social and wellbeing needs. One person’s care plan identified that they liked watching films, especially musicals in their room. We observed staff supported the person to watch the musical ‘Grease’ whilst having their lunch. Staff continued to be responsive to people’s needs. A healthcare professional thought staff were responsive to people’s needs and would contact them in a timely manner if people required their care. Complaints were responded to in a timely manner and the provider ensured there were systems in place to deal with concerns and complaints. End of life care was considered at the home and people’s wishes were documented in their care plans.

The home continued to be well-led. A relative told us “The management are really approachable and open; the manager knows people well and I am confident in them.” The registered manager completed robust and effective quality assurance systems and processes in place to assess, monitor and drive improvements in the quality of care people received. People, staff and relatives remained engaged and involved in the service provided. The culture of the home continued to be positive and respected people’s equality, diversity and human rights. The registered manager said, “We have always had the same vision to provide a ‘home from home’.

Further information is in the detailed findings below