Acacia Mews Care Home

Updated 4 February 2020

The inspection

We carried out this inspection under Section 60 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (the Act) as part of our regulatory functions. We checked whether the provider was meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Act. We looked at the overall quality of the service and provided a rating for the service under the Care Act 2014.

Inspection team:

The inspection was carried out by one inspector, an inspection manager, assistant inspector and an expert by experience. An expert by experience is a person who has personal experience of using or caring for someone using this type of service.

Service and service type:

Acacia Mews Care Home is a 'care home'. People in care homes receive accommodation and nursing or personal care as single package under one contractual agreement. CQC regulates both the premises and the care provided, and both were looked at during this inspection.

The service had a manager who was registered with the Care Quality Commission. A registered manager and the provider are legally responsible for how the service is run and for the quality and safety of the care provided. However, the registered manager was absent at the time of inspection and the home was being managed by the deputy manager.

Notice of inspection

This inspection was unannounced.

What we did before the inspection

We reviewed information we had received about the service since the last inspection. We sought feedback from the local authority and professionals who work with the service. We did not request the provider information return ahead of this inspection. This is information providers are required to send us with key information about their service, what they do well, and improvements they plan to make. This information helps support our inspections. We used all of this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection

We spoke with nine people who used the service and three relatives about their experience of the care provided. We spoke with the deputy manager, regional manager, regional support manager and six members of staff. We used the Short Observational Framework for Inspection (SOFI). SOFI is a way of observing care to help us understand the experience of people who could not talk with us.

We reviewed a range of records. This included four people’s care records and multiple medication records. We looked at three staff files in relation to recruitment. A variety of records relating to the management of the service.

After the inspection

We looked at quality assurance and training records.

Updated 4 February 2020

About the service

Acacia Mews Care Home is a residential care home providing personal care to 56 people at the time of the inspection. The service can support up to 68 people.

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

People and their relatives were happy with the care and support they received. Staff were friendly and attentive to people’s needs. People told us there were enough staff to meet their needs and spend time with them. Relatives told us there were enough staff to meet people’s needs. Staff were trained and felt supported.

People were very comfortable with staff and told us they felt safe. Staff knew people well. Staff were aware of how to promote people’s safety. Regular checks were in place to ensure staff worked in accordance with training and health and safety guidance was followed.

The environment had plenty of communal space for people to enjoy. People enjoyed the activities that were provided, staff told us there were regular opportunities for people to go out and people told us they were encouraged to get to know other people living in the service.

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.

People were involved in planning their care with their relatives, if appropriate. People had end of life care plans. Feedback about the care and support provided at this time in people’s lives was positive. There had been no recent complaints and there was a grumbles book kept for people to raise anything that was needed. Feedback was also sought through meetings, which all key team members attended to hear people’s views, and surveys.

Feedback about the registered manager, the acting manager (in the registered managers’ absence) and staff team was positive. There was an open culture in the home and an expectation that people were supported in a person-centred way. Staff were clear about their roles and the management team engaged well with the team and other agencies.

For more details, please see the full report which is on the CQC website at www.cqc.org.uk

The last rating for this service was Good (published 14 July 2017). At this inspection the service has remained rated as Good.

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.