Three Elms

Updated 15 April 2022

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.

As part of CQC’s response to care homes with outbreaks of COVID-19, we are conducting reviews to ensure that the Infection Prevention and Control (IPC) practice is safe and that services are compliant with IPC measures. This was a targeted inspection looking at the IPC practices the provider has in place. We also asked the provider about any staffing pressures the service was experiencing and whether this was having an impact on the service.

This inspection took place on 18 March 2022. The inspection was announced the day before it took place.

Updated 15 April 2022

About the service

Three Elms is a residential care home providing accommodation and personal care for up to 56 older people, some of whom are living with dementia. The service is provided by Minster Care Management Limited. At the time of our inspection the service was providing accommodation to 49 people.

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

People living at Three Elms and their relatives told us that their experience of using the service was overall very positive. People consistently told us how they were treated with kindness from all of the staff who were also very supportive. People told us they had enjoyed activities and events that had been organised

People had access to a choice of menu's and received wholesome and nutritious meals that were well presented and took into consideration each person's dietary needs.

Some areas of the building showed signs of wear and tear. A programme of maintenance and redecoration was in place. The registered manager took actions during the inspection to repair various parts of the building including the car park surface and external lighting. We have made a recommendation to develop the environment with the needs of people with cognitive impairments in mind.

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.

Staff were well trained in various topics appropriate to their role. They were knowledgeable in how to safeguard people from the risk of harm and abuse and were well trained in safely managing people's medications. People received care and support by staff who had been appropriately recruited and had undergone the necessary recruitment checks.

The service continued to offer a good service. We found there was an effective process in place to monitor the quality and safety of care people received. Quality assurance checks were routinely carried out and the provision of care was monitored, assessed and improved upon accordingly.

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 28 February 2017).

Why we inspected

This was a planned inspection based on the previous rating.

Follow up

We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service until we return to visit as per our re-inspection programme. If we receive any concerning information we may inspect sooner.