We carried out a review of the data available to us about Risedale at Abbey Meadow on 6 July 2023. We have not found evidence that we need to carry out an inspection or reassess our rating at this stage.
This could change at any time if we receive new information. We will continue to monitor data about this service.
If you have concerns about Risedale at Abbey Meadow, you can give feedback on this service.
Risedale at Abbey Meadow is a purpose built residential care home providing personal and nursing care for up to 93 people, 85 people were using the service at the time of the inspection. The service provides support to adults who have a physical disability, mental health needs, behaviour support needs, dementia and complex nursing needs.
People’s experience of using this service and what we found
People were safe and protected from abuse and avoidable harm. There were enough staff, with the appropriate skills and knowledge, to support people. People received their medicines safely and as their doctors had prescribed. The provider had systems to analyse and learn from incidents to further improve the service.
The provider invested in staff training and development and staff were well-trained and skilled. They provided people with high-quality support, based on best practice. The provider had worked with a specialist supplier to ensure the environment promoted good outcomes for people. The staff had a good understanding of how to promote people’s rights. 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 staff treated people with kindness and respect and knew how people communicated. They promoted people’s independence and dignity. People made choices about their lives and the staff respected the decisions they made. The staff provided care in an empathic way which promoted people’s wellbeing.
Staff were responsive to people’s needs. They planned and delivered care to meet people’s needs in a holistic, person-centred way. They identified people’s wishes about how they wanted to be cared for at the end of their lives and worked with specialist services to ensure people received a high standard of care. People enjoyed a range of activities which engaged them and promoted their wellbeing. Visitors were made welcome and people could see their friends and relatives at any time they chose. The provider investigated any complaints received to identify if the service could be further improved.
The registered managers provided leadership to the staff team and modelled the values of empathic, holistic, person-centred care. The staff felt well supported and were engaged with the values and ethos of the service. The provider and registered managers monitored the service to ensure people continued to receive good care. People were asked for their views about the home and valued the service provided. The provider was open and honest with people when incidents happened. They had developed a culture where staff were supported to share their views and raise any concerns.
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 13 May 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.
Our last comprehensive inspection of this home was carried out in July 2014. At that inspection we found the home was meeting all of the regulations we assessed. We judged the quality rating for the home to be “good”.
Risedale at Abbey Meadow provides accommodation for up to 93 people who need personal and nursing care. The service provides support to adults who have a learning disability, physical disability, mental health needs, behaviour support needs, dementia and complex nursing needs. Specialist nurses are employed to ensure people who have complex needs receive the support they require.
The home also has one area that is used for people who are ready to be discharged from hospital but who require short term rehabilitation and/or recuperation or a period of assessment before moving to other services. This area of the home is only used in response to the Government’s winter pressures planning procedures and was planned to close on the 30 April 2017.
This is a large and complex service and there were three registered managers employed in the home. 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 and associated Regulations about how the service is run. Each of the registered managers was responsible for overseeing specific areas within the home.
The registered managers and senior staff in the home were skilled and knowledgeable and provided exceptional leadership for staff. They acted as role models for staff, setting high standards and guiding and supporting staff to ensure these were met.
The service maintained links to recognised leading practitioners in supporting people who had complex needs. Staff had completed specialist training and were highly skilled to meet people’s needs.
The registered provider was committed to providing people with a high quality service. They had good systems to assess the quality of the service and to identify how it could be further improved.
People valued the service provided. They were asked for their views and received high quality, caring support that was person centred and enhanced their wellbeing. The staff in the home knew people well and treated them with kindness and respect.
There were enough staff to provide people’s support promptly. Care was planned with individuals and those who knew them well. People’s care was provided to take account of their needs and preferences.
People were provided with a high standard of accommodation that was comfortable and was well maintained. The home had a range of equipment to meet people’s needs. Where people required specialist equipment to meet their needs or to enhance their quality of life this was provided.
People received a high quality service because the registered provider was committed to the continuous improvement of the home. The registered provider invested in the home, equipment and staff development to ensure the quality of the service.
People were safe living in the home. They were protected from abuse and risks to their safety were identified and managed.
People were provided with meals, drinks and snacks that they enjoyed. Mealtimes were happy and sociable experiences and people received the support they needed to enjoy their meals.
People were supported to maintain their independence and their privacy and dignity were respected. The principles of the Mental Capacity Act 2005 were followed and people’s rights were protected. 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 supported this practice.
Visitors were made welcome and people could see their friends and families as they wished. People were provided with a range of activities in the home and community.
People received their medicines as they required and were supported to access appropriate health care services.
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 and to pilot a new inspection process being introduced by CQC which looks at the overall quality of the service.
Risedale at Abbey Meadow provides accommodation for up to 70 people who require nursing and personal care. The home was purpose built as a care home and has a range of features to meet people’s needs and to promote their independence. Accommodation for people is arranged over two floors and there are passenger lifts to assist people to access the accommodation on the upper floor. Risedale at Abbey Meadow is set in its own grounds and people have access to safe, outdoor space. There are 70 single rooms in the home, all of which have their own toilet and bathing facilities. There were 67 people living at the home at the time of our inspection.
The service had two registered managers in post, each responsible for different areas of the home. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission to manage the service and shares the legal responsibility for meeting the requirements of the law with the provider.
This was an unannounced inspection, carried out over two days. During the inspection we spoke with 21 people who lived in the home, 17 visitors, 14 staff and one of the registered managers. We also spoke with the Director of Nursing and the Managing Director of the service. We observed care and support in communal areas, spoke to people in private and looked at the care records for 10 people. We also looked at records that related to how the home was managed.
We last inspected the home in January 2014. At that inspection we found the service was meeting all of the essential standards that we assessed.
People were safe and well cared for in this home. People told us that they, and their families, had been included in planning and agreeing to the care provided. The staff on duty knew the people they were supporting and the choices they had made about their care and their lives. The decisions people made were respected. People were supported to maintain their independence and control over their lives.
The registered managers followed the requirements of the Mental Capacity Act 2005 Code of practice and Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards. This helped to protect the rights of people who were not able to make important decisions themselves.
People were treated with kindness and respect. People we spoke with told us, “The staff are kind, thoughtful and helpful”. We saw that most of the staff in the home took time to engage with the people they were supporting. However in two living areas we saw that some staff were focussed on the tasks they were carrying out and did not take the time to speak with the people they were assisting. Although people in these areas received the support they needed, this wasn’t always provided in a way which enhanced their wellbeing.
People were able to see their friends and families as they wanted. There were no restrictions on when people could visit the home. All the visitors we spoke with told us they were made welcome by the staff in the home.
People had a choice of meals and drinks, which they told us they enjoyed. People who needed support to eat and drink received this.
Safe systems were used when new staff were employed. All new staff completed thorough training before working in the home. The staff employed at Risedale at Abbey Meadow were aware of their responsibility to protect people from harm or abuse. They knew the action to take if they were concerned about the safety or welfare of an individual. They told us they would be confident reporting any concerns to a senior person in the home.
The staff employed in the home were well trained and competent to carry out their duties.
Risedale at Abbey Meadow was purpose built as a care home. The home had a range of equipment to meet people’s diverse needs and to promote their independence. The home was well maintained and throughout our inspection we found that all areas were clean and free from odours.
People who lived in the home told us the staff were 'marvellous' and said, 'We're well looked after'.
Many of the people who lived at Risedale at Abbey Meadow could not easily express their views about the service they received. We used the Short Observational Framework for Inspection and observed people in communal areas throughout the home. We saw that the staff on duty were knowledgeable about the support individuals required. People received the support they needed at the time they required this. We saw that the staff spoke to people in a friendly and respectful manner and gave them choices about their lives.
Where people needed support to make important decisions about their lives we saw that their families had been included in agreeing to the care they received. A visitor to the home told us, 'The staff listen to me, they say I know [my relative] best and value my input'.
We spoke to a number of people who visited the home regularly. They told us they had never seen or heard anything which caused them concern.
One visitor told us, 'It's always lovely and clean, never any smells' and another person said, 'There is a nice atmosphere, it's a real home from home'.
People we spoke with told us,
'This is a lovely home, you couldn't ask for better',
'The staff are lovely, there is always someone around when I want to speak to them',
And said, 'I'm perfectly happy, I know [my relative] is safe and looked after. I come every day and they are always clean and look happy'.
Staff we spoke with told us they were confident people were well looked after and safe in the home. One staff member told us, 'I can give the care that I want to people'. Another person said, 'I'm happy working here, I wouldn't be happy if I wasn't 100% certain that we were able to look after people how I'd want my relative to be looked after'.
People who lived in the home told us that the staff who worked there were 'nice' and said they were 'easy to talk to' if they had any worries. People we spoke with told us they liked their rooms and said they were supported to take part in a range of activities which they enjoyed.
Visitors to the service told us they believed people who lived in the home were well cared for. They said the staff included them in decisions about their relatives' care and made them feel welcome in the home. One person told us, 'The staff are more like friends.'
People said,
'The staff are fabulous'
'I like the meals'
'I'd recommend this service to anyone'
A number of the people living at the home were not able to easily express their views about the service but we could see people were treated with respect and received a high standard of care which met their needs.
Visitors to the service told us they felt their relatives were very well cared for and said they were confident they were safe living in the home.