21 June 2023
During a routine inspection
Croston Park is a nursing and residential care home providing personal and nursing care to 43 people at the time of our inspection. The service can support up to 56 people who have a range of residential and nursing needs, including older people and people living with dementia.
The home is a seventeenth century grade II listed building in its own grounds which has been suitably adapted for its purpose. Bedrooms are located over 3 floors with lift access to the upper floors. Most of the bedrooms are ensuite. The ground floor includes the dining room and several communal lounge areas and access to the outside garden and grounds.
People’s experience of using this service and what we found
Medicines were stored and administered safely. People were supported safely, and the provider had plans in case of emergencies. The home was clean and hygienic, and staff were seen to wear appropriate personal protective equipment (PPE). Staff were employed following a safe and robust recruitment process. Safeguarding training was mandatory, and staff were aware of the processes to follow to enable people to keep safe.
Staff felt supported by the management team and the induction and ongoing training they received. 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. Mealtimes were relaxed and organised around people's individual daily routines. People were supported to have access to healthcare professionals and their healthcare needs had been met. The service worked in partnership with other organisations to ensure they followed good practice and people in their care were safe.
Staff were caring, respected people's differences and promoted their independence. Staff knew people well and delivered care according to people's specific needs.
People were encouraged to stay active as much as possible and engage among each other in activities organised by staff. People and their relatives knew how to make a complaint, and felt they could raise any issues with the registered manager. Staff felt able to raise concerns if they needed to. The provider was able to offer people dignified end of life care, that met people's needs.
The provider had various methods to assess, monitor and improve the quality of the service. People and staff told us there was a very positive culture at Croston Park. The management team positively engaged in the inspection process and the manager clearly understood their regulatory responsibilities. The provider and management team had been responsive in implementing positive change and working with health and social care professionals to improve people’s quality of life.
Rating at last inspection and update: The last rating for this service was requires improvement (published 25 January 2023) 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
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.
This inspection was carried out to follow up on action we told the provider to take at the last inspection.
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 Croston Park 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.