The Orchards Residential Home

Updated 26 April 2022

The inspection

This was a targeted inspection to check on the specific concerns we had in relation to staffing, recruitment, staff knowledge of people’s needs and management of the home.

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 team consisted of one inspector.

Service and service type

The Orchards 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. 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. 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. This information helps support our inspections. We looked at notifications received from the provider. A notification is information about important events which the provider is required to tell us about by law. This ensured we were addressing any areas of concern. We looked at the service’s last inspection report. We used all of this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection

We spoke with three people who used the service. Some people living in the home could not verbally give us feedback. As such we looked around the home and observed the way staff interacted with people. We looked at three people's care records and four medicine administration records (MAR). We spoke with five members of staff including the area operations manager, the registered manager, carers and domestic staff. We reviewed a range of records relating to people's care and the way the service was managed. These included staff training records, five staff recruitment files, quality assurance audits, incidents and accidents reports, complaints records, and records relating to the management of the service.

After the inspection

We continued to seek clarification from the provider to validate evidence found. We received further feedback from five staff, five relatives and three healthcare professionals.

Updated 26 April 2022

About the service

The Orchards is a residential care home providing accommodation to up to 44 people. At the time of our inspection there were 39 people living at the service.

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

People living at The Orchards received safe care from skilled and knowledgeable staff. Staff knew how to identify and report any concerns. The provider had safe recruitment and selection processes in place.

Risks to people's safety and well-being were managed through a risk management process. There were sufficient staff deployed to meet people's needs.

Medicines were managed safely, and people received their medicines as prescribed. The provider had made significant changes and ensured there were clear processes and procedures to manage all aspects of medicines safely.

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.

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.

The home was well-led by a registered manager who was committed to improving people's quality of life. We received positive feedback about the management of the home from people, relatives and staff. The provider and registered manager had made significant changes to the service including the environment. They had effective quality assurance processes which were used to improve people’s care. The service had a clear management and staffing structure in place and staff worked well as a team. Staff worked well with external social and health care professionals.

Rating at last inspection

The last rating for this service was good (published 26 September 2019)

Why we inspected

We received concerns in relation to staffing, recruitment, staff knowledge of people’s needs and management of the home. As a result, we undertook a focused inspection to review the key questions of safe and well-led only.

For those key questions not inspected, we used the ratings awarded at the last inspection to calculate the overall rating. The overall rating for the service has remained good based on the findings of this inspection.

We found no evidence during this inspection that people were at risk of harm from these concerns. Please see the safe and well-led sections of this full report. You can read the report from our last comprehensive inspection, by selecting the ‘all reports’ link for The orchards 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.