The Mews Care Home

Updated 2 December 2023

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 Health and Social Care Act 2008.

Inspection team

The inspection team consisted of an inspector, a regulatory coordinator and an Expert by Experience.

An Expert by Experience is a person who has personal experience of using or caring for someone who uses this type of care service.

Service and service type

The Mews Care Home is a ‘care home’. People in care homes receive accommodation and nursing and/or personal care as a single package under one contractual agreement dependent on their registration with us. The Mews Care Home is a care home with nursing care. CQC regulates both the premises and the care provided, and both were looked at during this inspection.

Registered Manager

This provider is required to have a registered manager to oversee the delivery of regulated activities at this location. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission to manage the service. Registered managers and providers are legally responsible for how the service is run, for the quality and safety of the care provided and compliance with regulations.

At the time of our inspection there was not a registered manager in post. A new manager had been appointed and was in the process of applying to become the registered manager.

Notice of inspection

The inspection was unannounced

What we did before the inspection

We used the information the provider sent us in the provider information return (PIR). This is information providers are required to send us annually with key information about their service, what they do well, and improvements they plan to make.

We reviewed information we had received about the service since the last inspection. We sought feedback from the local authority, Healthwatch, and professionals who work with the service. Healthwatch is an independent consumer champion that gathers and represents the views of the public about health and social care services in England.

We used all this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection

We spoke with 5 people who use the service and 6 family members. We spoke with 11 members of staff including the manager, nursing staff, care staff, housekeeping staff and catering staff. We also spoke with a visiting health professional.

We reviewed a range of records. This included 6 people’s care records and multiple medication records. We looked at 5 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 manager to validate evidence found.

Updated 2 December 2023

About the service

The Mews care home is a residential care home providing personal and nursing care for up to 47 people. The service provides support to older people, some of whom are living with dementia. At the time of our inspection there were 41 people using the service.

People’s experience of the service and what we found:

People and their relatives spoke positively about the care and support provided. Comments included, “It’s pleasant and friendly here. No complaints, I filled the questionnaire in the other day and handed it into the office” and “I come twice a week. It’s the best thing that could have happened. When you can’t look after yourself, the care here is second to none, she wants for nothing.”

Improvements had been made regarding the administering of people’s medicines. People’s medicines were now managed safely. People were supported to have access to health professionals to meet their health needs.

Improvements had been made regarding care plans being person centred. People's care and support was planned in line with their individual needs and preferences. Care plans contained detailed information about the support people needed to meet their needs.

Risks to people’s safety had been assessed and plans put in place to support staff to keep people safe. Safeguarding concerns had been referred to the local authority to be investigated.

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.

There were enough staff to meet people’s care and support needs. Safe recruitment checks were completed before people commenced employment and an appropriate induction and training schedule were in place.

Staff spoke positively about the management of the service and the support they received. They felt there had been some improvements since the last inspection. Actions had been taken to improve the provider oversight. Audits were completed by the manager and a home improvement action plan had been implemented.

We expect health and social care providers to guarantee people with a learning disability and autistic people respect, equality, dignity, choices and independence and good access to local communities that most people take for granted. ‘Right support, right care, right culture’ is the guidance CQC follows to make assessment and judgements about services supporting people with a learning disability and autistic people and providers must have regard to it. At the time of the inspection, the location did not care or support anyone with a learning disability or an autistic person.

Rating at last inspection and update

The last rating for this service was requires improvement (published 06 January 2023)and there were breaches of regulation. We also recommended the provider consider current guidance on monitoring staffing levels and recruitment.

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.

Why we inspected

The inspection was prompted in part due to concerns received about staffing and people’s care and support. A decision was made for us to inspect and examine those risks.

We found no evidence during this inspection that people were at risk of harm from this concern. Please see the safe, effective, responsive, and well-led sections of this full report.

We undertook a focused inspection to review the key questions of safe, effective, responsive and well-led only. For those key question not inspected, we used the ratings awarded at the last inspection to calculate the overall rating.

You can read the report from our last comprehensive inspection by selecting the ‘all reports’ link for The Mews Care Home on our website at www.cqc.org.uk.

Follow Up

We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service, which will help inform when we next inspect.