CQC report explained · a residential care home
What the CQC found at Alverthorpe
Rated Good: inspectors found the home performing well and meeting their expectations.
- Safe?
- Good
- People were protected from abuse and avoidable harm. Inspectors found enough suitably trained staff, safe medicines management, regular risk reviews and appropriate infection control arrangements.
- Effective?
- Good
- This area was not inspected during this focused visit. Its previous rating was used when calculating the overall rating.
- Caring?
- Good
- This area was not inspected during this focused visit. The report says people and relatives told inspectors staff were kind, but no new rating was given.
- Responsive?
- Good
- This area was not inspected during this focused visit. The report describes personalised care plans, choices and support with independence, but no new rating was given.
- Well-led?
- Good
- Inspectors found an open and positive culture, regular audits, supported staff and feedback systems aimed at improving the service.
What inspectors found, March 2023
Rated Good; inspectors found safe, kind and person-centred care, with strong leadership.
The home provides personal care for up to eight people with learning disabilities or autistic spectrum disorder. Seven people were living there when inspectors visited.
This was a focused inspection after concerns about medicines, record keeping and leadership. Inspectors visited on 9 March, unannounced, and 14 March 2023, announced. They spoke with people, relatives and staff, observed care, and checked care, medicines, recruitment and management records.
Inspectors rated Safe and Well-led as Good. They found enough trained staff, safe medicines systems, regular risk checks and kind support. People were helped to make choices, become more independent and take part in community activities.
The overall rating is Good. The other three areas were not inspected during this visit, so their previous ratings were carried forward from the last comprehensive inspection in 2018.
Enough trained staff
Inspectors found enough suitably trained staff, with a full core team helping to provide continuity. Staffing levels also allowed people to take part in community activities.
“People were supported by enough suitably trained staff.” from the report
Safe medicines
People received medicines as prescribed from trained staff. The home had guidance for medicines given when needed and reviewed errors to learn lessons.
“Medicines were safely managed. People received their medicines as prescribed, from trained staff.” from the report
Person-centred support
Care records gave staff guidance about people's preferences. Staff offered choices and supported people to build independence and manage some activities themselves.
“Care plans were person centred and provided staff with guidance about how people liked to be cared for.” from the report
Positive leadership
The management team was described as open and supportive. It used audits, meetings and feedback from people, relatives and staff to monitor and improve the home.
“The service had an open, honest and positive culture.” from the report
Community activities
People were supported to take part in activities such as shopping, cinema trips, museums and seaside visits.
“Enough staff were provided to enable people to access a range of community activities.” from the report
Inspectors raised no specific concerns in this report.
- 01How do you check that medicines records remain complete and accurate?
- 02What happens when a medicines error occurs, and how do you make sure lessons are followed through?
- 03How will you maintain enough trained staff to support community activities and provide continuity?
- 04How do you support each person to reduce restrictive physical interventions and manage distress?
- 05How are people and relatives involved in reviewing care plans and deciding improvements to the home?
This was a focused inspection of Safe and Well-led only; the other ratings were carried forward from the last comprehensive inspection published in 2018. This explanation was written from the published report of 18 March 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, October 2018
Heathcotes Alverthorpe was rated Good; inspectors found safe, kind and personalised care, with some staffing issues to keep under review.
Inspectors visited on 17 and 18 September 2018. The inspection was announced because the home was small and some people became unsettled when new people visited. They spoke with four people living there and seven staff, and checked care records, medicines, staff training, safeguarding, complaints and quality checks.
The home supported eight people with learning disabilities and autism, and was full during the inspection. Inspectors found that staff knew people well, managed risks, supported people with medicines, and provided activities based on their interests. People were treated with kindness, privacy and dignity.
Inspectors also found good staff training, support with food and drinks, access to health professionals, and detailed care records. The home had a complaints procedure, although no complaints had been received. Feedback from people, relatives and professionals was positive.
This was the home's first inspection. It was rated Good in all five areas: Safe, Effective, Caring, Responsive and Well-led.
Personalised support
Care records gave staff detailed guidance about each person's needs, communication, preferences and goals. Inspectors saw that support was adapted when a person could not safely achieve a planned activity.
“Care records provided staff with a clear overview and guidance as to how best support people.” from the report
Kind and respectful care
Staff listened to people, responded to anxiety and provided discreet support. Inspectors saw people being treated with kindness, compassion, privacy and dignity.
“People were cared for by staff who focused entirely on the individual they were supporting.” from the report
Activities and independence
People were supported to take part in activities they enjoyed, go into the community and work towards personal goals. Staff encouraged people to do as much as possible for themselves.
“People also accessed the community in a daily basis.” from the report
Safe medicines practice
Inspectors found medicines were stored, given and recorded correctly. Staff had to complete competency checks before administering medicines, and recent audits had scored 100%.
“Medication was stored, administered and recorded correctly.” from the report
Strong quality checks
The home used regular audits to identify and follow up improvements. Inspectors found evidence that most actions had been completed and that audit scores had improved since the home opened.
“The provider had a robust quality assurance process which included comprehensive audits of the home every three months.” from the report
Breaks and shift allocation
minorOne staff member said breaks could sometimes be difficult because of staffing pressures. The staff survey also identified team working and shift allocation as areas for improvement.
“The staff survey identified high levels of satisfaction although also identified some areas for improvement around team working and allocation of shifts.” from the report
- 01How do you make sure staffing levels remain appropriate when there is sickness or staff need to take breaks?
- 02What has been done to improve team working and the allocation of shifts since the inspection?
- 03How would you support my relative's communication needs and recognise when they are becoming anxious?
- 04What activities and community visits could my relative take part in, and how would you support their personal goals?
- 05How are medicines checked, and which staff are currently trained and assessed as competent to administer them?
This was the first comprehensive inspection of the home and covered all five CQC questions, including the premises and the care provided. This explanation was written from the published report of 24 October 2018 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 Alverthorpe
2 rated inspections over 4 years: the service has held its Good rating throughout.
- March 2023Goodcurrent ratingstayed GoodSafe: GoodEffective: GoodCaring: GoodResponsive: GoodWell-led: Good
- October 2018GoodSafe: GoodWell-led: Good
- May 2017
Registered with the Care Quality Commission on 23 May 2017.
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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92 live-in carers within about an hour of Wakefield
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Most charge £980 to £1,260 a week. 79 can care for a couple. 12 years' experience on average.
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