The Old Vicarage

The Old Vicarage is a residential care home providing personal and nursing care to up to 38 people. The service provides support to older people. At the time of our inspection there were 27 people using the service.

People’s experience of the service and what we found:

People felt safe within the service. Risk assessments were in place to manage risks within people’s lives, and staff understood how to manage risk.

Staff recruitment procedures ensured that appropriate pre-employment checks were carried out.

Medicines were stored and administered safely, and staff had training in this area.

Staffing support matched people’s needs within the service during our inspection. Staff were supervised well and felt confident in their roles.

The staff and management was open and honest, and worked in partnership with outside agencies to improve people’s support when required.

Audits of the service were detailed and any issues found were addressed promptly.

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 good (Published 17 November 2017)

Why we inspected

This inspection was prompted by a review of the information we held about this service.

We undertook a focused inspection to review the key questions of safe and well-led only. For those key question 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 The Old Vicarage 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.

We found the following examples of good practice.

People were supported by staff to keep in touch with those important to them. Relatives and friends visiting the home were required to complete a COVID-19 test, had their temperature checked and wore Personal Protective Equipment (PPE). To reduce the risk, visitors used designated entrances and exits to minimise contact with other residents.

Family members had been supported to visit relatives in receipt of end of life care, when the home had been closed to visitors, during a COVID-19 outbreak.

The home during a COVID-19 outbreak had adopted zoning and cohorting measures to reduce the risk of spreading the infection.

Staff engaged with a programme of regular testing for COVID-19 consistent with government guidance and had provided evidence of their vaccination status against COVID-19 which was recorded.

Visiting professionals were asked to provide evidence of their vaccination status against COVID-19 prior to entering the home and evidence of a negative COVID-19 test.

People and their family members had been involved in decisions related to COVID-19, which included testing and vaccination.

We saw PPE was accessible within the home and staff used it in accordance with the most up to date guidance. Information about the correct use of PPE and handwashing guidance was displayed throughout the home. Staff had undertaken training on infection prevention, which included good hand hygiene, and the correct use of PPE.

Systems were in place for the management of infection prevention and control, which included a schedule of cleaning, based on the level of risk. Audits for infection prevention and COVID-19 were undertaken monthly in response to changing needs and government guidance.

At the last inspection in July 2015, the service was rated Good. At this inspection we found that the service remained good.

There was a registered manager in post. 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 supported by sufficient numbers of staff in the home that had received the training and support that they required to provide effective care to people. Staff had been subject to appropriate recruitment procedures to ensure that they were of good character. People were protected from the risk of harm because staff were confident in recognising and reporting concerns to maintain people’s safety.

People received personalised care and support and had detailed plans of care in place to guide staff in providing their care. People’s needs were monitored closely and their plans of care reviewed to ensure they received appropriate care and support.

People were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff supported them in the least restrictive way possible; the policies and systems in the service support this practice.

People were supported to access healthcare professionals and to maintain good health and well-being. Staff were vigilant of people’s health. People were supported to have sufficient amounts to eat and drink to help maintain their health and well-being.

Staff took time to get to know people and ensured that people’s care was tailored to their individual needs. People had the information they needed to make a complaint and the service had processes in place to respond to any complaints.

People were supported by a team of staff that had the managerial guidance and support they needed to carry out their roles effectively. The quality of the service was monitored by the audits regularly carried out by the registered manager and by the provider.

One person told us, 'This is a wonderful place.'

We also looked at how the physical surroundings within the home and found that the environment was welcoming and safe.

Finally, we looked at how comments and complaints were managed and how the home dealt with information and records of the staff and people who lived at the home. We found an open approach with good communication in place between the staff and the people who lived in the home and family members. One person told us, 'The manager 'phoned me with updates and listened to my views about X.'

We saw that records were well managed, with sensitive personal information stored securely with and appropriate measures in place.