The Croft Residential Home

Updated 4 January 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.

As part of this inspection we looked at the infection control and prevention measures in place. This was conducted so we can understand the preparedness of the service in preventing or managing an infection outbreak, and to identify good practice we can share with other services.

Inspection team

The inspection was carried out by one inspector and two Experts 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 Croft Residential 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 Croft Residential Home is a care home without 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 a registered manager in post.

Notice of inspection

This inspection was unannounced.

What we did before inspection

We reviewed information we had received about the service since the last inspection. We sought feedback from the local authority and professionals who work with the service. 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 used all this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection

We spoke with nine people who lived at The Croft and ten relatives/friends. We spoke with nine members of staff including the registered manager, deputy manager, director and nominated individual. The nominated individual is responsible for supervising the management of the service on behalf of the provider.

We reviewed a range of records. This included four peoples care records, medicines administration records (MAR), four staff recruitment files, staff training records and other records related to the management of the service.

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.

Updated 4 January 2023

About the service

The Croft Residential Home is a care home without nursing and is registered to provide accommodation and support for a maximum of 22 people. At the time of the inspection there were 18 people living at the service. People living at The Croft were older people, some were living with dementia. The service is an older detached building set over three floors with a lift to access bedrooms on the first floor. Rooms on the second floor and some on a mezzanine level were accessed via a chair lift.

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

Since the last inspection a new manager had been appointed. They had worked in partnership with the local authority quality assurance and improvement team (QAIT) to review and improve all aspects of the service in response to the concerns raised. As a consequence, the service was no longer in breach of regulation and the overall quality and safety of the service had improved significantly. A relative told us, “Since the new manager has been appointed, there has been such a marked improvement. She is very responsive and brilliant at implementing changes and I cannot fault the way she deals with any concerns. She is making a real difference.”

There was a robust and effective quality assurance programme in place. This enabled the registered manager to identify issues and take prompt action to address them, for example in relation to potential skin breakdown, or concerns and complaints from people using the service.

Staff told us the registered managers door was ‘always open’ and they felt very well supported by the management team and providers. They had received the coaching and mentoring they needed since the new manager had come into post and there had been several promotions as a consequence. This had contributed to the improved quality and safety of the service.

The management team were committed and passionate and continue to drive service improvement for the benefit of people, staff and the wider community. They had been part of a pilot project for a piece of equipment to raise non injured people off the floor following a fall. The number of emergency calls from the service had reduced significantly as a consequence. The registered manager and had been invited to share their learning with other services at a care homes forum.

People felt safe living at The Croft. Staff were recruited safely, and safeguarding processes were in place to help protect people from abuse. Risks associated with people's care had been assessed and guidance was in place for staff to follow. There were systems in place to ensure the safe administration of medicines.

People's needs were robustly assessed before they moved into the service. Person-centred care plans were developed with people and their families, this included people's life stories and wishes. A relative said, “They know her as an individual, it is brilliantly matched in the care plan.”

Staff ensured people were seen by healthcare professionals where needed. Visiting healthcare professionals spoke highly of the staff and the care they delivered to people.

People were supported by a stable and consistent staff team who knew them well. We saw kind and caring interactions during the inspection. Staff were supporting people in line with their care plans, for example comforting a person who was distressed by singing with them and talking about their family.

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.

For more details, please see the full report which is on the CQC website at www.cqc.org.uk

Rating at last inspection and update

The last rating for this service was requires improvement (published 02 November 2021) 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 carried out an unannounced focussed inspection of this service on 18 and 25 May 2021. Breaches of legal requirements were found. The provider completed an action plan after the last inspection to show what they would do and by when to improve receiving and acting on complaints and governance.

We undertook this focused inspection to check they had followed their action plan and to confirm they now met legal requirements. This report only covers our findings in relation to the Key Questions Safe, Responsive and Well Led.

For those key questions not inspected, we used the ratings awarded at the last comprehensive inspection to calculate the overall rating. The overall rating for the service has changed from requires improvement to good. This is based on the findings at this inspection.

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

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.

Follow up

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