Green Acres Care Home

Green Acres is a residential care home providing personal and nursing care to 48 people aged 65 and over at the time of the inspection. The service can support up to 62 people. The home is purpose built and provides accommodation over two floors.

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

Following the last inspection in January 2020 and the emergency support framework completed in May 2020 improvements had been made to the care people received. The new manager had made significant improvements in a short space of time and concerns and complaints from stakeholders had reduced. Whilst improvements had been made over the last five months and the provider had a plan in place to continue to improve, the provider had yet to evidence sustained, high quality leadership over a longer period of time.

Staff and relatives told us the quality of care had improved and they consistently told us their relations were happy living at the home. Medicines were managed safely although some minor recording issues were found. Improvements to the management of medicines meant they were no longer in breach of any legal requirements.

The recent appointment of a new manager and deputy manager had supported the home to make the necessary improvements. All staff we spoke with showed the same passion and dedication to improve people’s experience of care at the service. Improved governance systems and regular audits meant ongoing actions had been taken to improve care.

Individual risks were being managed. When accidents or incidents occurred, learning was identified to reduce the risk of them happening again. Staff updated risk assessments and care plans to ensure people were kept safe and protected from abuse and avoidable harm. People’s needs were reflected in their risk assessments and associated care plans and there was a programme in place to ensure all records were regularly reviewed.

Infection control procedures were in place and the home followed current government guidance to ensure people were protected from the transmission of infection. PPE stations were in place and staff had been trained to don and doff personal protective equipment. A housekeeper had been appointed and this person ensured cleaning products and sanitising equipment met the required standards and was always in stock. Cleaning rotas and schedules were in place to ensure risks to people were minimised.

Relatives said the registered manager was approachable and listened to their concerns. Staff told us they were supported by the registered manager and they were happy in their roles. They were fully engaged in supporting the service to improve and could see how this impacted positively on people living there.

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

Rating at last inspection (and update)

The last rating for this service was requires improvement (Published 12 February 2020) and there was a breach of regulation. The provider completed an action plan after the last inspection to show what they would do and by when to improve. At this inspection we found improvements had been made and the provider was no longer in breach of regulations.

Why we inspected

We carried out an unannounced comprehensive inspection of this service on 7 and 8 January 2020. A breach of legal requirements was found. The provider completed an action plan after the last inspection to show what they would do and by when to improve the management of medicines. We had ongoing concerns following on from this inspection about the consistency and quality of leadership within the service and although we did not inspect we carried out an emergency support framework review in May 2020. At this time the service needed external support to ensure risk and infection control was effectively managed. We undertook this focused inspection to check they had followed their action plan and to confirm they now met legal requirements. This report only covers our findings in relation to the Key Questions Safe and Well-led which contain those requirements.

The ratings from the previous comprehensive inspection for those key questions not looked at on this occasion were used in calculating the overall rating at this inspection. The overall rating for the service remains requires improvement. This is based on the findings at this inspection.

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 coronavirus and other infection outbreaks effectively.

You can read the report from our last comprehensive inspection, by selecting the ‘all reports’ link for Green Acres on our website at www.cqc.org.uk.

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.

Green Acres is a residential care home providing personal and nursing care for up to 62 mainly older people. The home is purpose built accommodation spread over two floors. At the time of the inspection 39 people were living in the home.

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

Medicines were not consistently managed in a safe or proper way. Overall risks to people’s health and safety were assessed and mitigated. People, relatives and staff provided mixed feedback about the home and said that high usage of agency staff compromised some aspects of care quality, such as communication, prompt care and knowledge of people’s needs. The home was kept clean, tidy and well maintained.

Staff were provided with training and support, although some training needed to be brought up-to-date. People generally said they received good care from the service and that they had a good choice of tasty food at mealtimes. People’s healthcare needs were assessed and, in most cases, met although there needed to be more attention to evidencing good oral hygiene assessments and care delivery.

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 said staff were kind and caring and treated them well. We observed staff were compassionate and respectful towards people. People were listened to by staff.

People had detailed care plans in place which demonstrated the service had sought out information on people’s likes, dislikes and preferences. Overall people’s communication needs were met by the service although some people said communication from agency staff needed to be better. Complaints were taken seriously by the service, responded to and learnt from.

Systems were in place to assess, monitor and improve the service, although some of these needed to be made more robust for example in relation to ensuring medicines management was safe and staff training kept up-to-date. The new manager was making positive improvements to the service and we were assured these would continue.

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

Rating at last inspection

This service was registered with us on 17 January 2019 and this is the first inspection.

Why we inspected

This was a routine inspection based on the date of registration.

Enforcement

We have identified a breach of regulation relating to medicines management at this inspection. 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 for 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 return to visit as per our re-inspection programme. If we receive any concerning information we may inspect sooner.