CQC report explained · a nursing home
What the CQC found at Adelaide Care Home
Rated Good: inspectors found the home performing well and meeting their expectations.
- Safe?
- Good
- People were protected from abuse and avoidable harm. Inspectors found that risks, medicines, staffing, recruitment and infection control were managed safely.
- Effective?
- Good
- People's needs were assessed and care plans reflected those needs. Staff received relevant training, and people were supported with food, drink, healthcare and decision-making.
- Caring?
- Good
- People and relatives said staff were kind, considerate and respectful. People were involved in decisions and supported to maintain their privacy, dignity and independence.
- Responsive?
- Good
- Care plans were personalised and regularly reviewed. Activities and support for relationships were available, but some people had limited access to activities.
- Well-led?
- Good
- Inspectors found effective quality checks, a clear management structure and good links with health and social care professionals. Most feedback about management was positive, although one relative disagreed.
What inspectors found, November 2023
Rated Good; inspectors found safe, kind and well-organised care, but some people had limited access to activities.
The home provides care for up to 76 people across four wings, including two for people living with dementia. There were 69 people living there during the inspection.
The inspection was unannounced and took place on 19 and 20 October 2023. Inspectors spoke with people, relatives, staff and managers. They observed care and checked care records, staff files and management records.
Inspectors rated the home Good in all five areas: Safe, Effective, Caring, Responsive and Well-led. They found that people were protected from harm, received their medicines safely, had their needs assessed and received kind, personalised care.
The home had activities available, but inspectors found that some people had limited access to them. The home was recruiting another activities coordinator. This rating is unchanged from the previous Good rating published in July 2022.
People felt safe
People and relatives told inspectors they felt safe. Staff understood safeguarding procedures and how to report concerns.
“People and their relatives told us they felt safe.” from the report
Safe staffing and medicines
Inspectors found enough staff to meet people's needs and saw evidence of safe recruitment. Medicines were administered, recorded and checked safely.
“Staff completed medicine administration records (MAR) as required, to ensure people received their medicines as prescribed.” from the report
Kind and respectful care
Staff respected people's choices, privacy, dignity and independence. People and relatives described the care as caring and considerate.
“People and their relatives told us staff were caring, considerate and respected their privacy, dignity, and independence.” from the report
Personalised care
Care plans included people's needs, preferences, history and support requirements. They were reviewed regularly.
“People's care plans were reflective of their individual care needs and preferences and care plans were reviewed on a regular basis.” from the report
Good health support
People had access to healthcare professionals, and records showed contact with services such as GPs, dentists and speech and language therapists.
“People's care records included evidence of regular contact with healthcare professionals, for example, health checks, speech and language therapist, the GP, dentist, and district nurse.” from the report
Limited access to activities
needs fixingInspectors found that some people had limited access to activities. The home was recruiting an additional activities coordinator to improve reach and support people with their interests.
“However, during the inspection we found some people had limited access to participate in the activities.” from the report
One concern about management visibility
minorMost people and relatives were positive about how the home was managed. One relative felt management should be more visible and more open.
“I don't feel the home is well managed. The home could be better managed by them being more visible and not being so corporate.” from the report
- 01Has the additional activities coordinator been recruited, and what activities are now available at weekends?
- 02How do you provide one-to-one activities for people who do not join group activities?
- 03How do you make sure activities reflect each person's interests, communication needs and abilities?
- 04How can relatives speak directly with management, and how often is management available to them?
- 05How do you use feedback from people and relatives to improve the activities programme and the running of the home?
This was an unannounced inspection of the care, premises and management of the home, covering all five CQC questions. This explanation was written from the published report of 15 November 2023 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, July 2022
Rated Good; inspectors found safe, effective and well-led care, with improvements since the previous inspection.
This was an unannounced focused inspection on 27 June 2022. Inspectors spoke with people, relatives, staff and a visiting health professional. They reviewed care and medicine records, staff files, audits and other records, and observed care.
The home was rated Good for Safe, Effective and Well-led. Inspectors found people felt safe, there were enough staff, medicines were managed safely and staff had suitable training. People were supported with food, healthcare and decisions about their care.
The previous inspection, published in December 2019, rated the service Requires Improvement because it did not follow the principles of the Mental Capacity Act. Inspectors found the required improvements had been made and the provider was no longer in breach of regulations.
This inspection did not assess Caring or Responsive. The overall rating used the new findings for Safe, Effective and Well-led alongside the ratings from the previous inspection for the questions not inspected.
People felt safe
People and relatives told inspectors they felt safe. Staff understood safeguarding procedures and knew how to report concerns.
“People told us they felt safe.” from the report
Safe staffing and recruitment
Inspectors saw enough staff to meet people's needs. Recruitment records included the checks needed before staff started work.
“Staff were deployed effectively to meet people's needs.” from the report
Medicines managed safely
Medicines were administered, stored and audited safely. Staff were trained and their competence was checked.
“Medicines were administered safely and people received support to take their medicines safely.” from the report
Improved decision-making
The home had decision-specific capacity assessments, best-interest records and DoLS records. Inspectors found the earlier legal shortfall had been addressed.
“We saw decision specific capacity assessments, best interest records and DoLS applications and authorisations retained in people's care files.” from the report
Quality monitoring
The provider used audits covering areas such as medicines, care records, infection control, incidents and complaints. People's and relatives' views were used in an action plan.
“Regular audits were carried out on areas such as, medicines management, care records, health and safety, infection control, incidents and accidents and complaints.” from the report
Inspectors raised no specific concerns in this report.
- 01How do you involve residents, relatives, advocates and professionals in decisions when someone lacks capacity?
- 02How do you review DoLS authorisations and make sure any conditions are followed?
- 03How do you change staffing levels when people's care needs increase?
- 04What progress has been made with the planned dementia-friendly signage, room changes and sensory areas?
- 05How do you use feedback from residents and relatives to change activities and other parts of the service?
This was a focused inspection of Safe, Effective and Well-led only; Caring and Responsive were not inspected and their previous ratings were used in the overall rating. This explanation was written from the published report of 15 July 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.
Every inspection of Adelaide Care Home
6 rated inspections over 7 years: the service has held its Good rating throughout.
- November 2023Goodcurrent ratingstayed GoodSafe: GoodEffective: GoodCaring: GoodResponsive: GoodWell-led: Good
- July 2022Goodup from Requires improvementSafe: GoodEffective: GoodWell-led: Good
- December 2019Requires improvementdown from GoodSafe: GoodEffective: Requires improvementCaring: GoodResponsive: GoodWell-led: Requires improvement
- October 2018Goodstayed GoodSafe: GoodWell-led: Good
- April 2017Goodstayed GoodSafe: GoodEffective: GoodCaring: GoodResponsive: GoodWell-led: Good
- June 2016GoodSafe: GoodEffective: GoodCaring: GoodResponsive: GoodWell-led: Requires improvement
- November 2014
Registered with the Care Quality Commission on 13 November 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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