Abbott House - Oundle

Updated 3 December 2020

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 the coronavirus pandemic we are conducting a thematic review of infection control and prevention measures in care homes.

The service was selected to take part in this thematic review which is seeking to identify examples of good practice in infection prevention and control.

This inspection took place on 11 November 2020 and was announced.

Updated 3 December 2020

Abbotts House is a ‘care home’. People in care homes receive accommodation and nursing or personal care as single package under one contractual agreement. The Care Quality Commission (CQC) regulates both the premises and the care provided, and both were looked at during this inspection. Abbott’s House is registered to accommodate 40 older people; at the time of our inspection there were 37 people living in the home.

At the last inspection this service was rated good. At this inspection we found the service remained good. The inspection took place on the 1st December 2017 and was unannounced.

The service had a registered manager. 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 treated with respect, kindness and empathy; they had developed positive relationships with the staff that were caring, compassionate and friendly. People had detailed personalised care plans in place which enabled staff to provide consistent care and support in line with people’s personal preferences.

People continued to receive safe care. Staff were appropriately recruited and there were sufficient staff to meet people’s needs. People were protected from the risk of harm and received their prescribed medicines safely.

The care that people received continued to be effective. Staff had access to the support, supervision, training and on going professional development that they required to work effectively in their roles. People were supported to maintain good health and nutrition.

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 home supported this practice. There were a variety of activities available for people to participate in if they wished to and the local community was encouraged to take part in events at the home.

The service had a positive ethos and an open culture. The registered manager and provider were committed to develop the service and actively looked at ways to improve the service. There were effective quality assurance systems and audits in place; action was taken to address any shortfalls.

People knew how to raise a concern or make a complaint and the registered manager had implemented effective systems to manage any complaints that they may receive.