CQC report explained · a residential care home
What the CQC found at Chelfham House Residential Home
Rated Good: inspectors found the home performing well and meeting their expectations.
- Safe?
- Good
- Inspectors were assured that the home was preventing infections, using PPE effectively, arranging testing and keeping its infection control policy up to date. They also looked at staffing pressures linked to COVID-19.
- Effective?
- Good
- Does the care work? Training, consent, food and drink, working with GPs and nurses.
- Caring?
- Good
- Are people treated with kindness and dignity?
- Responsive?
- Good
- Is care built around the person? Care plans, activities, complaints.
- Well-led?
- Good
- Is the home run well? The manager, the culture, how problems get found and fixed.
What inspectors found, March 2022
Chelfham House Residential Home was inspected but not rated; inspectors found good infection control and visiting arrangements.
This was an announced, targeted inspection on 17 February 2022. Inspectors looked at infection prevention and control, visiting arrangements and whether COVID-19 staffing pressures affected care.
The inspectors were assured that the home was using PPE safely, arranging testing, following infection control policies and managing visiting. They also found well-documented cleaning routines, with extra cleaners covering seven days a week.
The home was inspected but not rated overall, and the Safe question was also inspected but not rated. This report does not provide ratings for the other four questions.
Cleaning
Cleaning routines were documented and covered all parts of the home throughout the day. Extra cleaners were employed to provide cover seven days a week.
“The provider had established cleaning routines which were well documented and ensured all parts of the service were cleaned throughout the day.” from the report
PPE and infection control
Staff had infection control policies, training and access to PPE stations around the home. Inspectors observed staff using PPE appropriately.
“Staff had clear infection control policies to follow and wore personal protective equipment (PPE) appropriately.” from the report
Family visiting
The home had a visiting pod so visits could continue during an outbreak. Visiting arrangements were flexible when someone was receiving end-of-life care.
“The service had developed a visiting pod which ensured visits from family and friends could occur even if there was an outbreak.” from the report
Testing and protection
The home had a testing regime for staff and residents and was meeting the vaccination requirement applying at the time of the inspection.
“The service had developed a testing regime for staff and people living at the service, in line with government guidance.” from the report
Inspectors raised no specific concerns in this report.
- 01How are cleaning routines and extra cleaning cover organised now?
- 02How do you manage staffing pressures when staff are affected by COVID-19?
- 03How does the booking system work for family visits, and how flexible can visits be?
- 04What PPE and testing arrangements are currently in place for staff, residents and visitors?
- 05How would visiting work if my relative was receiving end-of-life care or there was an outbreak?
This was a targeted inspection of infection prevention and control, visiting arrangements and COVID-19 staffing pressures; it did not provide ratings for the other four key questions. This explanation was written from the published report of 10 March 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, August 2019
Chelfham House Residential Home was rated Good in all five areas; inspectors found safe, kind, personalised care and improvements since the previous Requires Improvement rating.
This was an unannounced inspection on 10 and 12 July 2019. Inspectors spoke with people, a relative, staff and health and social care professionals. They observed care and reviewed care files, staff records, training records and service documents.
The home was rated Good overall and in all five areas: Safe, Effective, Caring, Responsive and Well-led. Inspectors found suitable staffing, safe medicines, clean surroundings, trained staff and kind, respectful care.
The home had improved since the previous inspection, which was rated Requires Improvement. Problems with risk management, infection control, staffing, legal safeguards and management checks had been addressed, and the home was no longer in breach of those regulations.
Safe staffing
Staffing levels had been increased, and inspectors observed people's needs being met promptly. Recruitment checks were also in place.
“Staffing levels had been increased to ensure people's needs could be met in a safe and timely manner.” from the report
Medicines
Medicines were stored securely, given safely and checked through records and audits. Staff had medicine training and competency checks.
“Medicines were safely administered. Medicines administration records were appropriately signed by staff when administering a person's medicines.” from the report
Kind and respectful care
Inspectors saw gentle, compassionate interactions. Staff knew people's routines, preferences and support needs.
“There was a strong, visible person-centred culture. This was evident from all staff within all roles.” from the report
Personalised care and activities
Care plans contained people's histories, likes, dislikes and communication needs. A new activities coordinator supported activities inside the home and in the local community.
“Care plans were up-to-date and were clearly laid out.” from the report
Improved management checks
The home had introduced audits and observations to identify problems and follow up actions, such as updating care plans and completing maintenance work.
“Robust audits had been implemented following guidance from the Quality Assurance Improvement Team (QAIT) of the local authority.” from the report
Previous inspection history
needs fixingThe previous inspection found four breaches involving risk management, infection control, staffing and management systems. This inspection found enough improvement and said the home was no longer in breach.
“At that inspection we found four breaches of regulation.” from the report
End-of-life care was not observed
minorNobody was receiving end-of-life care during this inspection. The report therefore describes the home's arrangements and earlier family feedback rather than observing this care directly.
“At the time of the inspection there was no-one receiving this type of service.” from the report
- 01How do you keep staffing levels safe when staff are off sick, and who covers unexpected gaps?
- 02How are Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards authorisations reviewed and kept up to date?
- 03How will you assess and provide activities that match my relative's interests, routines and abilities?
- 04What do your current audits show, and are there any outstanding actions relating to care plans, risks, cleanliness or maintenance?
- 05How would you involve my relative, our family and health professionals in planning end-of-life care if it becomes needed?
This was an unannounced planned comprehensive inspection covering all five CQC questions, following the previous Requires Improvement rating. This explanation was written from the published report of 3 August 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 Chelfham House Residential Home
3 rated inspections over 4 years: the service has held its Good rating throughout.
- March 2022Inspected but not ratedcurrent ratingSafe: Inspected but not rated
Read what inspectors found at Chelfham House Residential Home →
- August 2019Goodup from Requires improvementSafe: GoodEffective: GoodCaring: GoodResponsive: GoodWell-led: Good
Read what inspectors found at Chelfham House Residential Home →
- July 2018Requires improvementdown from GoodSafe: Requires improvementEffective: Requires improvementCaring: Requires improvementResponsive: Requires improvementWell-led: Requires improvement
- November 2015GoodSafe: GoodEffective: GoodCaring: GoodResponsive: GoodWell-led: Good
- June 2014
Report published without a new overall rating.
- May 2013
Report published without a new overall rating.
- May 2012
Report published without a new overall rating.
- March 2011
Registered with the Care Quality Commission on 2 March 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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17 live-in carers within about an hour of Devon
These are self-employed carers on PrimeCarers, the introductory agency that runs this directory. Each has a profile with their own rates and reviews from families, and you choose who to talk to.
Most charge £1,020 to £1,270 a week. 15 can care for a couple. 13 years' experience on average.
“She is such a warm and gentle person while being professional and competent at the same time.”
“She looked after my mum, who can be incredibly challenging, so well and so gently, and we always felt confident that my mum was getting the best care available.”
Every carer has had an enhanced DBS check in the last 18 months, ID and right-to-work checks and an online interview. Their skills and training are for you to check with them. Carers set their own rates, and who is free changes week to week.