Archived: Cambridge House

Updated 8 June 2018

We carried out this inspection under Section 60 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 as part of our regulatory functions. This inspection was planned to check whether the provider is meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Health and Social Care Act 2008, to look at the overall quality of the service, and to provide a rating for the service under the Care Act 2014.

This was a comprehensive inspection to follow up on the breach and recommendations made at the last inspection. CQC carry out inspections approximately 12 months after a previous inspection report has been published for services rated requires improvement overall. The inspection took place on 8 May 2018 and was unannounced. The inspection was carried out by a single inspector.

Before our inspection we reviewed information we held about the service. This included statutory notifications received from the provider since the last inspection and the Provider Information Return (PIR). The PIR is a form we asked the provider to complete prior to our visit which gives us some key information about the service, including what the service does well, what the service could do better and improvements they plan to make.

Before the inspection we emailed a questionnaire to the local authorities who commission places at the home. We asked them for their opinion of their clients care.

During the inspection we spoke with six people who used the service but they were not all able to fully share their experiences of using the service because of their complex needs. We observed care and staff and people’s interaction in an informal way. We also spoke with the registered manager and five members of staff. We looked at a range of records including three staff files, three people's care plans and other records relating to the management of the home.

Updated 8 June 2018

At our last inspection in February 2017 the overall rating for this service was Requires Improvement. We rated Responsive and Well- Led as Requires Improvement because the activities provided were not always person centred and did not always reflect people’s hobbies and interests. We also made recommendations that the provider reviewed their record keeping with regard to monitoring the quality of the service provided and the recording of staff supervision records. We asked the provider to complete an action plan to show what they would do and by when to improve the key questions Responsive and Well Led to at least good.

At this inspection on the 8 May 2018 we found the provider had followed their plan with regard to the breach of regulations in person centred care and had followed our recommendations with regard to monitoring and record keeping. People could choose the activities they liked to do, systems were in place to monitor and improve the quality of the service, audits of the premises helped ensure the premises and people were kept safe and staff supervision records were more comprehensive.

We have changed the rating for Responsive and Well- Led to Good and the overall rating to Good.

Cambridge House is a ‘care home’. People in care homes receive accommodation and nursing or personal care as single package under one contractual agreement. CQC regulates both the premises and the care provided, and both were looked at during this inspection. There were 13 older people, some of whom had Dementia, using the service at the time of our inspection.

The bedrooms were based on two floors and each floor had shared bathroom facilities. Some bedrooms had en-suite facilities consisting of a toilet and basin. There is a large lounge and dining room and access to a garden. The home is close to local amenities including shops and with good transport links.

The home had a registered manager who was also the provider in place. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission to manage the service. Like registered providers, they are ‘registered persons’. Registered persons have legal responsibility for meeting the requirements in the Health and Social Care Act 2008 and associated Regulations about how the service is run

People were safe at the home. Staff could explain to us how to keep people safe from abuse and neglect. People had suitable risk assessments in place. The provider managed risks associated with the premises and equipment well. There were enough staff at the home to meet people’s needs. Recruitment practices remained safe. Medicines continued to be administered safely. The checks we made confirmed that people were receiving their medicines as prescribed by staff qualified to administer medicines.

People were cared for by staff who received appropriate training and support. Staff had the skills, experience and a good understanding of how to meet people’s needs. We saw that staff encouraged people to make their own decisions and gave them the encouragement, time and support to do so. Staff were providing support in line with the Mental Capacity Act (2005). People were supported to eat and drink sufficient amounts to meet their needs. People had access to a range of healthcare professionals.

The staff were caring. The atmosphere in the home was calm and friendly. Staff took their time and gave people encouragement whilst supporting them. Throughout the inspection we saw that people had the privacy they needed and were treated with dignity and respect by staff.

People’s needs were assessed before they stayed at the home and support was planned and delivered in response to their needs. The provider had arrangements in place to respond appropriately to people’s concerns and complaints.

We observed during our visit that management were approachable and responsive to staff and people’s needs.