Upton Grange Residential Home

Updated 1 April 2020

The inspection

We carried out this inspection under Section 60 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 as part of our regulatory functions. This inspection checked whether the registered provider is meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Health and Social Care Act 2008, to look at the overall quality of the service, and to provide a rating for the service under the Care Act 2014.

Inspection team

The inspection was carried out by one 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

Upton Grange is a ‘care home.’ People in care homes receive accommodation and nursing or personal care. The Care Quality Commission (CQC) regulates both the premises and the care provided, and both were looked at during this inspection.

At the time of the inspection the service had a manager registered with CQC. Registered managers and the registered provider are legally responsible for how the service is run and for the quality and safety of the care provided.

Notice of inspection

The inspection was unannounced.

What we did before the inspection

Before the inspection we reviewed the information we held about the service. This included any statutory notifications sent to us by the registered provider about incidents and events that had occurred at the service. A notification is information about important events which the service is required to send to us by law. We also contacted local commissioners of the service to gain their views. We used the information the provider sent us in the ‘provider information return.’ This is information providers are required to send us with key information about their service, what they do well, and improvements they plan to make. This information helps support our inspections. .

During the inspection

We spoke with the registered manager, six support staff, 12 people living at the service and four visitors.

We looked at care records of two people receiving support, a sample of staff recruitment files, medication records and other records and documentation relating to the management and quality monitoring of the service. We also undertook a Short Observational Framework for Inspection (SOFI) observation. SOFI is a specific way of observing care to help us understand the experience of people who could not talk with us.

Updated 1 April 2020

About the service

Upton Grange is one of three care homes owned by the Cheshire residential Homes Trust, which is a charitable non-profit making organisation. People in care homes receive accommodation and nursing or personal care as a single package under one contractual agreement. CQC regulates the premises and the care provided, both were looked at during this inspection. It can accommodate up to 25 people. At the time of our inspection there were 20 people living there.

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

Quality assurance processes were carried out by the registered manager. However, issues regarding the management of activity records, health and safety records, risk assessments, deployment of safe staffing needs further review to improve monitoring and record keeping.

Risks to people’s health and safety were assessed and managed but paperwork was not always up to date.

People told us there were enough staff around to help them receive care and support. However, they did not always know how many staff were on duty.

Care plans were in place and generally contained the correct level of information in relation to the support people needed. Some areas of recording needed updating.

Feedback received about the support provided was positive. People received good support from a committed staff team. People and relatives told us they loved the home-made food and felt it was a lovely environment to live in and enjoy. People told us they felt safe and comfortable.

Complaints were dealt with in accordance with the organisation's complaints procedure, people said they knew how to complain.

Recruitment checks were organised and showed appropriate records to ensure staff were suitable to work at the service. The staff team were well trained and skilled in effective communication to ensure people felt supported.

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.

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 July 2018.) At this inspection we found a breach of regulations and rated the service as 'requires improvement.'

Why we inspected

This was a planned inspection based on the previous rating.

Enforcement

We have identified breaches in relation to good governance at this inspection. Please see the action we have told the provider to take at the end of this report.

Follow up

We will continue to monitor intelligence we receive about the service until we return to visit as per our inspection programme. If any concerning information is received, we may inspect sooner.

We will request an action plan from 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.