Blythe Rose Care Home

This assessment was undertaken in response to information received by CQC indicating emerging risks within the service. Concerns included altercations between people living at the service, people being confined to their rooms and the inappropriate use of sedative medicines. A comprehensive assessment was carried out across all five key questions: safe, effective, caring, responsive and well‑led. During this assessment we found no evidence to support the concerns raised to CQC.

We found the home was supporting people with highly complex needs, many of whom had experienced multiple placement breakdowns before moving to the service. While altercations between people did occur, there was no evidence these were poorly managed. Risk assessments were in place and protective measures were used to safeguard people. Some bedroom doors could be secured to prevent other people from entering. This was not used to restrict people, as individuals were able to open their doors from the inside and leave freely. This supported people to spend time privately in their rooms while reducing the risk of uninvited entry and potential altercations. Medicines management was closely monitored by nursing staff and reviewed weekly with health professionals to reduce unnecessary overmedication. The service demonstrated a strong focus on understanding people’s needs and triggers over time, with the aim of improving quality of life and reducing reliance on medicines.

Staff and health professionals worked well together to support positive outcomes for people. Staff knew people well, and we observed warm, caring and attentive interactions throughout the assessment process. Care plans were largely person centred and contained good levels of detail about people’s preferences, risks and how support should be delivered.

However, some governance processes required strengthening, as systems did not always identify the concerns found during the assessment.