29 June 2021
During an inspection looking at part of the service
Ridgemount is a care home service without nursing which can support up to 66 people. At the time of the inspection 37 people lived in the home, some of whom lived with dementia. The home had four units spread over three floors with lift and stair access. Each unit had separate communal lounge and dining areas as well as kitchenettes. The ground floor also contained a large conservatory where group activities could take place.
People’s experience of using this service and what we found
People told us there were insufficient activities to engage them and some of the activities we observed were not meaningful to the person. Staff told us they did not always have the time to initiate the activities which the provider expected them to manage. Following inspection, the provider told us their wellness coordinator was supporting staff to improve on this. We made a recommendation that the provider supports staff in a way which enables them to provide care for people, as well as being able to deliver activities of people’s choosing.
The provider was part of the local authority’s ‘provider support and intervention’ programme since April 2021, following concerns about risk management and safe care of people. The current leadership team embraced the support offered by the local authority to improve the service, attended all required meetings and submitted regular updates on their improvement plan. Despite this, we found the provider’s audits did not always identify areas for improvement including how records were kept. We made a recommendation that the provider should maintain close oversight of the service until such time as the current improvements are embedded.
People were supported to keep safe. Staff were using personal protective equipment correctly and there were appropriate systems in place for the testing of staff, visitors and people living at the service for the COVID-19 infection. People received their medicines safely and as prescribed.
Staff were knowledgeable about the risks associated with people's care. There were plans in place to protect people in the event of a fire or if the building had to be evacuated. Care plans were personalised in recognition of people’s individual needs and care staff spoke positively about the quality of information they contained.
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 told us staff were kind, caring and respectful towards them. Relatives and visitors were welcomed into the service. People and relatives knew how to raise a complaint and were confident that complaints would be listened to and addressed.
People, relatives and staff said the current leadership of the service was supportive and managers were frequently seen around the home. Staff told us that they were encouraged to report any incidents or matters of concern and to share their views and ideas on the running of the service.
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 2 September 2019).
Why we inspected
The inspection was prompted due to concerns received about poor monitoring of people’s nutritional intake, reduced social activities for people and a poor staff culture. A decision was made for us to inspect and examine those risks.
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 COVID-19 and other infection outbreaks effectively.
We reviewed the information we held about the service. No areas of concern were identified in the other key questions. We therefore did not inspect them. Ratings from previous comprehensive inspections for those key questions were used in calculating the overall rating at this inspection. The overall rating for the service has changed from good to requires improvement. This is based on the findings at this inspection.
We have found evidence that the provider needs to make improvement. Please see the Responsive and Well-Led section of this full report.
You can read the report from our last comprehensive inspection, by selecting the ‘all reports’ link for Ridgemount 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.