CQC report explained · a residential care home
What the CQC found at Appleby House
Rated Outstanding: inspectors found the home performing exceptionally well.
- Safe?
- Good
- People were protected from abuse and avoidable harm. Risk assessments, staffing, recruitment, medicines, infection control and emergency plans were managed safely.
- Effective?
- Outstanding
- Care consistently achieved better-than-expected outcomes. Staff were skilled in dementia care, worked well with health professionals and supported nutrition, choice and independence.
- Caring?
- Outstanding
- People were treated with exceptional kindness, dignity and respect. Staff supported people to express their views, make choices and maintain their independence and relationships.
- Responsive?
- Outstanding
- Care was highly personalised and changed when people's needs changed. People were offered meaningful activities, accessible communication and support with end of life wishes.
- Well-led?
- Outstanding
- Leadership was exceptional, visible and focused on person-centred care. Audits, feedback and learning from incidents were used to improve the service.
What inspectors found, April 2019
Rated Outstanding; inspectors found exceptional dementia care and leadership, with safety rated Good.
This was an unannounced inspection on 22 January 2019. Inspectors reviewed care, medicines and other records, spoke with people, relatives, staff and health professionals, and observed care.
The home was rated Outstanding overall. Effective care, kindness, responsiveness and leadership were all rated Outstanding. Inspectors found personalised dementia care, skilled staff, strong links with health professionals and many activities that supported people's interests and independence.
Safety was rated Good. People were protected from abuse and avoidable harm, staffing levels met people's needs, medicines were handled safely and the home was clean. Staff were trialling an electronic medicines recording system, which had some teething problems but had not affected safety.
The overall rating improved from Good at the previous inspection, published in August 2016.
Personalised dementia care
Staff knew people well and adapted support to their histories, communication needs, preferences and changing needs.
“People received exceptional care in a way that was personalised and responsive to their changing needs.” from the report
Kind and respectful staff
Inspectors saw warmth, compassion and respect in the way staff supported people, including when people were distressed.
“Staff were exceptional in noticing and responding to people's emotional needs.” from the report
Activities and independence
People were supported to continue hobbies, try new activities and take part in community projects. The environment was adapted to encourage engagement and independence.
“The service continued to deliver exceptional opportunities for people to follow their social interests.” from the report
Strong leadership
The management team was visible and used feedback, audits and incident reviews to improve care. Staff felt able to speak up and learn from mistakes.
“There was an open and transparent culture of continuous learning and development.” from the report
Medicines recording system
minorStaff were trialling a new electronic system for recording medicines. Inspectors were told it had caused some teething problems, although they found these had not affected medicines safety.
“The management team and staff reported that the new system had generated some teething problems” from the report
- 01How is the electronic medicines recording system working now, and have the teething problems been resolved?
- 02How will you assess and update my relative's dementia care plan and risk assessments as their needs change?
- 03What activities and communication methods would be available for my relative's interests and abilities?
- 04How would my relative and our family be involved in decisions about care and end of life wishes?
- 05How can relatives raise concerns, and how are complaints recorded and acted on?
This was an unannounced planned inspection that looked at the overall service, including the premises and care provided, and assessed all five key questions. This explanation was written from the published report of 25 April 2019 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 Appleby House
2 rated inspections over 3 years: the service has improved, from Good to Outstanding.
- April 2019Outstandingcurrent ratingup from GoodSafe: GoodEffective: OutstandingCaring: OutstandingResponsive: OutstandingWell-led: Outstanding
- August 2016GoodSafe: GoodEffective: GoodCaring: GoodResponsive: OutstandingWell-led: Good
- July 2013
Report published without a new overall rating.
- January 2013
Report published without a new overall rating.
- October 2012
Report published without a new overall rating.
- January 2011
Registered with the Care Quality Commission on 11 January 2011.
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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