31 January 2023
During an inspection looking at part of the service
Cherry Trees Care Home is a residential care home providing accommodation and personal care for up to 25 people in one adapted building. At the time of this inspection there were 23 people living at the home.
People’s experience of using this service and what we found
Although people told us they felt safe, we identified some areas of improvement were required. We could not be assured people received their medicines as prescribed or that risks to people were managed and mitigated effectively. Care records including care plans and risk assessments did not provide clear and consistent information in relation to people's needs and abilities. This placed people at risk of receiving inappropriate and ineffective care and treatment which could result in harm.
The provider's quality assurance systems had not always been used effectively to identify areas for improvement.
Appropriate recruitment procedures were in place and there were enough staff to support people's needs. Staff had received training and support to enable them to carry out their role safely. There were appropriate policies and systems in place to protect people from the risk of abuse.
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.
Environmental risks had been considered and acted on where required. There were up to date policies and processes for the management of infection, prevention and control and the provider, management and staff adhered to the latest government guidance.
People were happy living at Cherry Tree Care Home and people and relatives were complimentary about all aspects of the service, describing the management team and staff as kind, caring and responsive. Staff knew the people they supported well and had a good understanding of their needs.
CQC were notified of all significant events that occurred in the service and the previous performance rating was prominently displayed on the premises as per requirements.
The service worked in collaboration with all relevant agencies, including health and social care professionals. This helped to ensure there was joined-up care provision.
Throughout the inspection the management team showed a commitment to wanting to provide people with person centred, safe and effective care. They were open, transparent and responsive throughout the inspection.
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 22 May 2019).
Why we inspected
This inspection was prompted by recent safeguarding concerns and the length of time since the service was inspected.
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.
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 changed from good to requires improvement based on the findings of this inspection. We have found evidence that the provider needs to make improvements.
Please see the safe and well-led sections of this full report. You can see what action we have asked the provider to take at the end of this full report. You can read the report from our last comprehensive inspection, by selecting the 'all reports' link for Cherry Tree Care Home on our website at www.cqc.org.uk.
Enforcement and Recommendations
We have identified breaches in relation to safe care and treatment and good governance. Please see the action we have told the provider to take at the end of this report.
Follow up
We will request an action plan from the provider to understand what they will do to improve the standards of quality and safety. We will work alongside the provider and local authority to monitor progress. We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service, which will help inform when we next inspect.