Richmond Village Cheltenham

Updated 19 May 2023

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 Health and Social Care Act 2008.

As part of this inspection we looked at the infection control and prevention measures in place. This was conducted so we can understand the preparedness of the service in preventing or managing an infection outbreak, and to identify good practice we can share with other services.

Inspection team

The inspection was carried out by 1 inspector and an Expert by Experience. An Expert by Experience is a person who has personal experience of using or caring for someone who uses this type of care service.

Service and service type

Richmond Village Cheltenham is a ‘care home’. People in care homes receive accommodation and nursing and/or personal care as a single package under one contractual agreement dependent on their registration with us. Richmond Village Cheltenham is a care home with nursing care. CQC regulates both the premises and the care provided, and both were looked at during this inspection.

Richmond Village Cheltenham and Richmond Village Cheltenham DCA are part of the same care village. However, these services are registered separately with CQC, hence, the DCA service was not included in this inspection.

Registered Manager

This provider is required to have a registered manager to oversee the delivery of regulated activities at this location. A registered manager is a person who has registered with the Care Quality Commission to manage the service. Registered managers and providers are legally responsible for how the service is run, for the quality and safety of the care provided and compliance with regulations.

At the time of our inspection a registered manager application was in progress. This application was approved on 21 April 2023.

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 used the information the provider sent us in the provider information return (PIR). This is information providers are required to send us annually with key information about their service, what they do well, and improvements they plan to make. We used all this information to plan our inspection.

During the inspection

We spoke with 5 people who used the service and observed people interacting with staff. We spoke with 3 people's relatives. We received feedback from a professional about their experience of the care and support provided by the service.

We spoke with 10 staff including the registered manager, regional support manager, head of care, deputy head of care, health and wellbeing manager, 2 nurses, 2 senior care assistants and a hostess.

We reviewed a range of records. This included care records, records of incidents and accidents and recruitment records. A variety of records relating to the management of the service, including the service’s action plan and recent audits were reviewed.

Updated 19 May 2023

About the service

Richmond Care Village is a care home providing accommodation, nursing and residential care to up to 60 people, some of whom live with dementia. At the time of our inspection there were 21 people using the service, one of whom was receiving respite care.

Richmond Care Village provided purpose-built accommodation over 3 floors. The residential, nursing and dementia care units were each self-contained and offered single en-suite bedrooms, lounge(s), dining room and adapted bathrooms. People using the service could access the care village facilities which included an activities room, restaurant, gym and wellness facilities, wheelchair accessible garden and roof top terrace.

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

People and their relatives were positive about Richmond Care Village Cheltenham. They praised the way staff supported them and said the service was well-run. Comments included, “I find it a very impressive place. It is beautifully kept up. It is immaculate” and “The reception team have been very kind and kept my spirits up.” We saw staff were kind and respectful when supporting people and there were enough suitable staff employed. People and their relatives could raise complaints and their views were listened to.

People’s risks had been assessed and their support plans described the actions staff should take to keep them safe and maintain their independence. Risk assessments and support plans were reviewed regularly, and timely action was taken when people’s needs changed or incidents occurred. Staff followed advice from professionals when managing risks in relation to choking, pressure area care, diabetes and medicines. The registered manager and provider ensured provider policies were followed to manage risks, for example, relating to fire, infection control and equipment, and to ensure regulatory requirements were met.

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. When people were unable to consent to any restrictions needed to keep them safe, capacity assessments had been completed and applications to deprive them of their liberty had been submitted.

There had been significant changes to the management team at the service since January 2023. Governance systems had been operated effectively to identify areas where improvement was needed, including record-keeping and medicines management. The registered manager was working through the service’s action plan to ensure all necessary improvements were completed in a timely way. Although early days, leadership changes were having a positive impact on staff morale and well-being.

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 15 July 2021).

Why we inspected

We received concerns in relation to medicines errors, response to incidents, staffing levels and staff support. As a result, we undertook a focused inspection to review the key questions of safe and well-led only. We found no evidence during this inspection that people were at risk of harm from these concerns. Please see the safe and well-led sections of this full report.

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 remained good, based on the findings of this inspection.

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

Follow up

We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service, which will help inform when we next inspect.