CQC report explained · a residential care home
What the CQC found at Acorn House
Rated Good: inspectors found the home performing well and meeting their expectations.
- Safe?
- Good
- Inspectors were assured about infection prevention and control, including PPE, testing, cleaning, social distancing, safe admissions and visiting arrangements. The provider also described measures to reduce the impact of COVID-19-related staffing pressures.
- Effective?
- Good
- This question was not rated in this targeted inspection.
- Caring?
- Good
- This question was not rated in this targeted inspection.
- Responsive?
- Outstanding
- This question was not rated in this targeted inspection.
- Well-led?
- Good
- This question was not rated in this targeted inspection.
What inspectors found, February 2022
Acorn House was inspected but not rated; inspectors found good infection control and support for people's wellbeing during the COVID-19 pandemic.
This was a targeted inspection on 19 January 2022. Inspectors looked mainly at infection prevention and control during the COVID-19 pandemic, and asked about staffing pressures.
Inspectors found good practice. Staff used personal protective equipment correctly, visitors were tested, cleaning was thorough, and the home followed guidance on testing, social distancing, admissions and visits.
The home also supported people's mental health and wellbeing. Staff helped people keep in touch with relatives and arranged activities, including culturally appropriate events.
The service was inspected but not rated. This report does not provide a full rating for the home or for most of the five questions CQC normally considers.
Infection control
Inspectors found that the home used PPE safely, followed testing guidance and had an up-to-date infection control policy.
“We were assured that the provider was using PPE effectively and safely.” from the report
Cleaning and layout
The home had extra cleaning schedules for frequently touched surfaces and was arranged to support social distancing.
“The service was cleaned to a high standard, with additional cleaning schedules having been put in place” from the report
Visitors and family contact
Visits were supported in line with guidance, and staff helped people stay in contact with important relatives in different ways.
“People were enabled by staff to keep in touch with those important to them in a variety of ways.” from the report
Wellbeing
The home considered people's mental health during the pandemic and arranged creative and culturally appropriate activities.
“People's mental health and wellbeing had been fully considered during the pandemic.” from the report
Inspectors raised no specific concerns in this report.
- 01What infection control arrangements are in place now for PPE, testing, cleaning and managing outbreaks?
- 02How are current staffing pressures affecting people living here, and what measures are being used to reduce their impact?
- 03How are visits currently arranged, including visits for people receiving palliative care?
- 04How does the home support people to keep in touch with relatives and take part in activities?
- 05How are visitors and professionals checked against the home's current COVID-19 requirements?
This was a targeted inspection of infection prevention and control and COVID-19-related staffing pressures; the service was inspected but not rated and the other four questions were not rated. This explanation was written from the published report of 5 February 2022 by an AI system and checked against the report text: every quoted line appears in the report. It is a guide to the report, not a substitute for it. Read the full report on cqc.org.uk.
What inspectors found, December 2020
Inspected but not rated; inspectors found safe infection control arrangements during a targeted coronavirus review.
Inspectors visited the home without notice on 25 November 2020. They carried out a targeted inspection because of coronavirus outbreaks in care homes. The review looked at infection prevention and control practices.
Inspectors were assured that the home was managing infection risks. This included visitor arrangements, social distancing, admissions, personal protective equipment, testing, cleaning, hygiene and managing outbreaks.
The home had introduced extra cleaning of frequently touched areas. Staff had temperature checks, worked in specific areas to reduce mixing, and managers carried out daily checks on personal protective equipment. People isolating in their rooms received one-to-one wellbeing support.
The home was inspected but not rated. This means the report does not give a full overall quality rating or ratings for all five areas of care.
Enhanced cleaning
The home had increased cleaning of frequently touched areas.
“The service had introduced enhanced cleaning with extra cleaning of frequent touch points.” from the report
Managing staff movement
Staff were allocated to specific areas to reduce mixing. Managers also checked staff use of personal protective equipment each day.
“There was a manager on each shift to maintain standards and the management team performed daily walk rounds to check on staff wearing personal protective equipment (PPE).” from the report
Family contact
The home provided outdoor and adapted indoor visiting arrangements. Video calls were also used to involve more family members.
“The service had a sheltered garden for people to see their relatives through windows and had adapted a spare room with direct access from outside to allow visits inside.” from the report
Support during isolation
People isolating in their rooms received one-to-one support from wellbeing staff while group activities were not taking place.
“People isolated in their rooms had been supported by wellbeing staff on a one to one basis while group activities were not occurring.” from the report
Inspectors raised no specific concerns in this report.
- 01How are you currently cleaning frequently touched areas, and how often is this checked?
- 02How do you currently manage visitors and family contact when infection risks change?
- 03How are new residents admitted and tested safely?
- 04How do you reduce staff movement and mixing between different areas of the home?
- 05How do you support residents who need to isolate, including their wellbeing and contact with family?
This was an unannounced targeted inspection of infection prevention and control practices only, so the service was inspected but not rated overall. This explanation was written from the published report of 18 December 2020 by an AI system and checked against the report text: every quoted line appears in the report. It is a guide to the report, not a substitute for it. Read the full report on cqc.org.uk.
Every inspection of Acorn House
3 rated inspections over 3 years: the service has improved, from Requires improvement to Good.
- February 2022Inspected but not ratedcurrent ratingSafe: Inspected but not rated
- December 2020Inspected but not ratedSafe: Inspected but not rated
- February 2018Goodstayed GoodSafe: GoodEffective: GoodCaring: GoodResponsive: OutstandingWell-led: Good
- December 2015Goodup from Requires improvementSafe: GoodEffective: Requires improvementCaring: GoodResponsive: GoodWell-led: Good
- June 2015Requires improvementSafe: Requires improvementEffective: GoodCaring: Requires improvementResponsive: GoodWell-led: Requires improvement
- June 2014
Report published without a new overall rating.
- March 2014
Registered with the Care Quality Commission on 14 March 2014.
Ratings and report dates from the Care Quality Commission, Open Government Licence v3.0. A home can also be visited without a new rating being published, so the timeline shows published inspections.
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