Cotswolds Rise Residential Care Home

The service was clean throughout and had been well maintained. The home was newly built and suitable to meet the needs of people using the service. Regular checks were carried out for health and safety of the premises and equipment. Staff followed good infection prevention and control procedures and had access to personal protective equipment.

People’s needs were assessed prior to an offer of placement. This information was used to produce a personalised care plan for people with risk management guidance. The provider used an electronic care planning system which staff could access on handheld devices. Daily care notes did not always provide evidence of what care and support had been provided. The provider had already identified the need for more training for staff to improve record-keeping and had added an action for this to their service improvement plan.

Staff worked with healthcare professionals to make sure people’s health needs were met. Referrals were completed in a timely manner and people were able to receive a visit from health care professionals at the service. If people needed monitoring for health conditions this was completed and if people’s needs changed this was shared in staff handovers.

Prior to this assessment we received information of concern about staffing numbers. Feedback from people, relatives and staff about staffing numbers was mixed. Some felt there were enough staff whilst others told us more staff were needed. During this assessment we observed there were enough staff available to meet people’s needs safely. Staff had been recruited safely and were provided with training and support. The provider had many systems and processes to support staff wellbeing and promote equality, diversity and inclusion in the workplace.

Staff understood the importance of obtaining consent from people before providing care and support. We observed staff using equipment safely and communicating with people effectively. Staff responded to people in a timely way, and we observed people were comfortable approaching staff for help.

Regular meetings were held for people and relatives to share information about what was happening at the service. This was also an opportunity to get feedback from people and relatives about all aspects of the service provided. The provider had a complaints process and aimed to investigate complaints within specified timescales. However, we found responses to complainants were not always clear on outcomes of the complaints and did not share information on organisations to contact if people were not satisfied with how the complaint was managed.

Medicines were not always managed safely. We found discrepancies with some stock which the service could not account for. Action was taken during the assessment to report discrepancies to relevant external agencies. We observed people’s privacy was not always maintained. Action was taken during the assessment to address poor practice seen.

There was a home manager in post who had applied to the Care Quality Commission (CQC) to become registered. Feedback about the management approach was positive. The home manager was approachable and listened to ideas and concerns raised. The provider made sure management were supported with regular visits from regional and central support teams.