Acorn Manor Residential Home

Updated 28 July 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 Care Act 2014.

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 completed by two inspectors.

Service and service type

Acorn Manor is a ‘care home’. People in care homes receive accommodation and nursing or personal care as a single package under one contractual agreement. CQC regulates both the premises and the care provided, and both were looked at during this inspection.

The service had a manager registered with the Care Quality Commission. This means that they and the provider are legally responsible for how the service is run and for the quality and safety of the care provided.

Notice of inspection

This inspection was unannounced.

What we did before the 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. The provider was asked to complete a provider information return prior to this inspection yet the deadline for completion of this was after this inspection. This is information we require providers to send us to give some key information about the service, what the service does well and improvements they plan to make. We took this into account when we inspected the service and made the judgements in this report. We used all of this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection

We spoke with 5 people who used the service about their experience of the care provided. We spoke with 6 members of staff including the area manager, registered manager, senior care worker and care workers. We reviewed a range of records. This included 4 people’s care records, risk assessments and medication records. We looked at 4 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 looked at various documents and continued to seek clarification from the provider to validate evidence.

Updated 28 July 2023

About the service

Acorn Manor is a residential care home providing personal care to 27 people at the time of the inspection. The service can support up to 30 people in one adapted building.

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

Apart from one discrepancy in the recording of one person's medication which had not posed any risk of harm to the person, medication was otherwise safely managed. We made the registered manager aware of this.

Environmental risks were not always identified and while there had been significant and ongoing improvement to the environment of the building; some areas had not been included on the refurbishment list where refurbishment was required.

While there were many quality audits in place, the quality of activities during the day of our visit had not been identified.

People were happy with the service provided. People either commented that they were pleased with the care they received and those who did not offer a view, were clearly relaxed with the staff team. Staff interactions were seen to be helpful and respectful. The management team operated an open-door approach and were accessible to people.

People and their families were kept up to date with events within the building through regular newsletters, Surveys seeking the views of people, families and other stakeholders such as staff were sought.

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

The last rating for this service was requires improvement (published 24 October 2019). The rating at this inspection has changed to good.

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.

For those key questions 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 Acorn Manor 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.