27 July 2023
During a routine inspection
Blossom House Residential Home is a residential care home providing personal care for up to 40 people within one large, adapted building. The service provides support to younger and older people who may have physical disabilities, some of whom may be living with dementia. At the time of our inspection, 31 people were living at the home.
People’s experience of using this service and what we found
At this inspection, we found the registered manager and provider had made significant improvements to the service, and they were now meeting the regulations. People received personalised care, shaped around their individual needs, choices, and preferences. People’s care plans reflected their individual needs and were kept under regular review. People’s end of life wishes were consistently recorded. The registered manager and provider’s quality assurance together with recruitment of staff, such as a person-centred lead had enabled them to drive improvement in the service people received.
People were supported by staff who had received training in, and understood, how to protect them from avoidable harm, discrimination, and abuse. The staffing levels maintained at the home ensured people’s individual needs could be met safely and flexibly. Systems and procedures were in place to ensure people received their medicines safely and as prescribed, and to protect people from the risk of infection. Accidents and incidents involving people living at the home were analysed by the management team to stop things from happening again.
People’s needs and choices were assessed in order to develop effective care plans and achieve positive outcomes for people. Staff received effective induction, training, and support to enable them to fulfil their duties and responsibilities. People were supported to have a balanced diet and any risks associated with their eating and drinking were assessed and managed. Staff and management worked collaboratively with external professionals, team, and agencies to ensure people received coordinated care. Measures were in place to continue with refurbishment and redecoration of the premises to meet the individual needs of the people living at the home.
Wherever possible, people's consent was gained before any care was provided. People were supported to have choice and control over their lives and staff supported them in the least restrictive way possible; the policies and systems in the service supported this practice.
Staff treated people in a kind and caring manner and took the time to get to know them well. People’s privacy and dignity was promoted and respected by staff and management. Staff promoted people’s lifestyle choices and assisted people to retain their independence. People were encouraged and supported to express their views about the service.
Staff supported people’s participation in a range of things to do for fun and interest. People were supported to fulfil their ambitions and follow their individual interests. People and their relatives had accessible information in how to raise a complaint and the provider had procedures to identify any causes and opportunities for improvement.
The registered manager and provider were keen to promote a culture of support for staff where learning was promoted, and improvements continued to flourish. Staff were clear about their responsibilities and felt able to approach management for any additional support needed. The management and staff team worked in partnership with other professionals and the local community to achieve good outcomes for 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 requires improvement (published 8 May 2020) and there were breaches of regulation. 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
This inspection was prompted by a review of the information we held about this service.
We looked at infection prevention and control measures under the Safe key question. We look at this in all care home inspections even if no concerns or risks have been identified. This is to provide assurance that the service can respond to COVID-19 and other infection outbreaks effectively.
The overall rating for the service has changed from requires improvement to good based on the findings of this inspection.
You can read the report from our last comprehensive inspection, by selecting the ‘all reports’ link for Blossom House Residential 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.