23 January 2024
During an inspection looking at part of the service
The Rowans Care Home is a residential care home that does not provide nursing. The service accommodates up to 54 people who require support with their personal care needs, many of whom are living with dementia. Accommodation is provided across 2 floors with communal areas and an enclosed rear garden. At the time of this inspection there were 45 people using the service.
People's experience of using this service and what we found
Not everyone had a sufficient and detailed care and risk management plan in place. Risk management plans did not always provide clear guidance for staff in how to meet people's needs and reduce risks to people's safety. Care plans were not always reflective of people's current needs. The registered manager was in the process of reviewing and updating care plans and records at the time of our inspection visit. Although hygiene and cleaning standards had improved in the service, we found further improvements were needed to ensure these were sufficiently embedded in staff working practices.
Areas of the premises were dated and in need of refurbishment. The provider had agreed a significant refurbishment plan and work was in progress at the time of our inspection.
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. However, people's care records did not always provide clear evidence that best interest processes had been followed.
People were protected from the risk of abuse because the provider had effective safeguarding systems in place which were clearly understood by staff. People were supported by enough staff to meet their needs and keep them safe. People's medicines were managed safely.
Staff supported people to achieve positive outcomes from their care using a person-centred approach. People were supported to maintain their health and well being and staff worked in partnership with other agencies involved in people's care. Staff ensured people had enough to eat and drink.
Staff felt supported in their role and felt able to raise concerns and make suggestions. People, relatives and staff were engaged and consulted in issues and changes within the service. We received positive feedback around the impact of the registered manager in making improvements, providing clear and consistent leadership and creating a more positive and inclusive culture. Quality assurance and monitoring was carried out and governance processes highlighted the concerns we found at this inspection. The registered manager and provider had prioritised improvements and therefore some were in progress or not fully embedded at the time of our inspection. The provider was able to share plans to complete and embed improvements following our inspection visit.
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 good (published 20 April 2022).
Why we inspected
This inspection was prompted by a review of the information we held about this service and to follow up on specific concerns we had received about the service.
For those key questions not inspected, we used the ratings awarded at the last inspection to calculate the overall rating. The overall rating for the service has changed from good to requires improvement based on the findings of this inspection. We have found evidence that the provider needs to make improvements. Please see the safe and effective sections of this report.
You can read the report from our last comprehensive inspection, by selecting the 'all reports' link for The Rowans Care Home on our website at www.cqc.org.uk
Follow up
We will request an action plan from the provider to understand what they will do to improve the standards of quality and safety. We will work alongside the provider and local authority to monitor progress. We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service, which will help inform when we next inspect.