Allingham House Care Centre

Updated 11 March 2024

Allingham House care Centre is a nursing and residential home for up to 84 people, many whom are living with dementia or a cognitive impairment. There were 78 people using the service at the time of our site visit. The service is a large, purpose-built building with living accommodation for people set out over 3 floors. A further floor contains facilities for staff, kitchens and laundry. The home has secure grounds that can be accessed from the ground floor. We looked at 12 quality statements across the 5 key questions of safe, effective, caring, responsive and well-led. The assessment, which included both on and off-site activities, took place between 01 May 2024 and 17 May 2024. We carried out an unannounced visit to the service on 01 May 2024. The assessment 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. 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. A further announced visit was made on 14 May 2024 by 1 inspector. We met with people living on the nursing, residential and specialist dementia units, and observed care and support provided to people across both days of assessment. We spoke with 8 people and 3 relatives. We spoke with 13 members of staff including nursing and care staff, maintenance, the registered manager, deputy manager, regional manager and operations director. In addition, we sought feedback from local authority professionals who work with the service. We found good outcomes for people living at the service in the areas we assessed.

Updated 11 March 2024

People said they had confidence in the staff and felt safe; observations of staff practice showed they knew people well. People felt listened to, as improvements had been made following complaints or suggestions they had made in meetings. People spoke highly of staff. One person told us, “The staff are exemplary; I love the staff, I love them all; I feel cared for.” We observed good relationship and fondness between the staff and residents. Staff were attentive, kind, and considerate in their approach and attitude. Feedback from relatives was overall positive. They told us their loved ones received safe and effective care. There was also positive feedback in the form of thank you cards sent to the service following a period of respite care, or after a loved one had passed away. A professional supporting the service had no concerns and said, “I have no safety or management concerns regarding the service, and I am confident that residents are safe and looked after.” They considered that residents and relatives were treated with respect. They told us that the management team were proactive with any requests or recommendations made during quality checks and that the home had scored highly in their most recent quality visit. There were no restrictions on visitors to the home, and friends and relatives were seen coming and going throughout the days of the assessment. People told us Skype calls were facilitated so they could keep in contact with relatives living further away. Any areas for improvement identified by people or their relatives in meetings or surveys were acted upon.