Archived: Gracewell of Maids Moreton

Updated 22 November 2019

The inspection

We carried out this inspection under Section 60 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (the Act) as part of our regulatory functions. We checked whether the provider was meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Act. We looked at the overall quality of the service and provided a rating for the service under the Care Act 2014.

Inspection team

On day one the inspection was carried out by one inspector, a specialist advisor who was a nurse and an Expert by Experience (EXE). An Expert by Experience is a person who has personal experience of using or caring for someone who uses this type of care service. On the second day the same inspector and EXE visited the home.

Service and service type

Gracewell of Maids Moreton is a ‘care 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 service had a manager registered with the Care Quality Commission. This means that they and the provider are legally responsible for how the service is run and for the quality and safety of the care provided.

Notice of inspection

This inspection was unannounced.

What we did before the inspection

Prior to the inspection we requested and received back a provider information return (PIR). We used the information in the PIR. This is information providers are required to send us with key information about their service, what they do well, and improvements they plan to make. This information helps support our inspections.

We looked at information we held about the service and sought feedback from the local authority and professionals who work with the service. We used all of this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection

We spoke with 20 people who lived at the home and eight visiting relatives. We used the Short Observational Framework for Inspection (SOFI). SOFI is a way of observing care to help us understand the experience of people who could not talk with us.

We spoke with the registered manager, deputy manager and regional operational managers. We spoke with nine care and support staff including the home admission advisor and reception staff.

We observed medicine administration to three people. We reviewed a range of records. This included three people’s care records and medicine records. We looked at six staff files in relation to recruitment and staff supervision. A variety of records relating to the management of the service, including policies and procedures were reviewed

After the inspection

We continued to seek clarification from the provider to validate evidence found. We looked at training data and quality assurance records and reviewed a further four people’s care records. We continued to receive feedback from staff, relatives and external parties. The registered manager continued to provide supporting evidence of work they had completed to enrich people’s lives.

Updated 22 November 2019

About the service

Gracewell of Maids Moreton is a care home with nursing and dementia support. It provides a light and welcoming environment to up to 60 older people living with a physical disability or dementia. Accommodation is spread over two floors. People have access to multiple seating areas. A bistro area on the ground floor was a focal point of the home. People were observed to routinely walk around the well-maintained gardens.

This service has a dual registration which means there are two registered providers jointly managing the regulated activities at this single location. The providers are Maids Moreton Operations Limited and Gracewell Healthcare Limited. This means the service is subject to one inspection visit however the report is published on our website twice, under each provider.

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

People benefited from living in a care home which provided exceptional effective, caring and well-led care and support.

There were strong links with the community and the home was an integral part of the local area, acting as a meeting place for many organisations. The home had developed excellent support networks for people, their relatives and the local residents. A number of support groups regularly met at the home, including a dementia and Parkinson’s group.

People received effective support which met their individual needs. A holistic assessment was carried out which considered people’s cultural, religious and lifestyle histories. Staff had been supported to develop their skills in communicating with people and ‘unlocking’ their personality. The service worked with a nationally recognised occupational therapist specialising in dementia care. Feedback from them to the service included “Thank you very much for sending these completed care practice reflection tools and your own reflections in the email below. It is great to see the final project of the Advanced Level Dementia Care Course being so effective in your service.”

The provider had used Gracewell of Maids Moreton to pilot a new care model, which due to the success at the service was being cascaded across all the provider's locations. The care model was about how the service deployed staff to ensure it really did provide person-centred care.

Without exception people were routinely treated with dignity and respect. Staff navigated around the home to ensure everyone was acknowledged, valued and included in decisions about their care. People were truly partners in their care. Comments from people included “I think the staff here are marvellous” and “All of the staff have been exemplary in their friendliness, professionalism and caring attitude.” People were supported to have a positive and enriching life and were encouraged to live life to the full. The registered manager had categorised the work they did. For instance, ‘live with purpose’, and live with involvement’ described two initiatives which involved engagement with the local conservation group to commemorate the anniversary of World War One.

People routinely told us they were safe living at the home. One person told us “I do feel safe living here, if I was still living in my own home I would not feel so secure.” Another person said, “Oh yes I feel perfectly safe here.” One relative told us their family member who was aged over 100 had “Started to live again since moving into the home.” Another relative told us “[Name of person] quality of life improved within days of her moving in to the Gracewell and has continued to improve and astound us all.”

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 support this practice.

The provider invested in staff training and encouraged projects to be undertaken at the home. A falls project completed by the deputy manager had been chosen to be showcased at the national clinical awards. The project looked at how falls were managed within the home and the links they had with good hydration levels and hospital admission as well as weight loss. Results clearly demonstrated by looking at all health factors affecting a person staff were more educated and falls in the home reduced significantly. The deputy manager has been nominated for the national care awards due to their commitment, drive and ambitions to provide the best possible care and support to people.

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 outstanding (published 07 March 2017)

Why we inspected

This was a planned inspection based on the previous rating.

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.