CQC report explained · a residential care home
What the CQC found at Cheriton Care Home
Rated Good: inspectors found the home performing well and meeting their expectations.
What inspectors found, July 2022
Cheriton Care Home was rated Good; inspectors found safe care and strong management, while improvements to falls and incident reviews were still under way.
This was an unannounced, focused inspection on 23 and 24 June 2022. Inspectors looked at Safe and Well-led because concerns had been raised about risk management, care and the management culture. They spoke with people, relatives, staff and a health professional, and reviewed care records, medicines records, staff files and management records.
Inspectors found people were protected from abuse and avoidable harm. Staffing levels were adequate, medicines were managed safely, recruitment checks were completed and infection control arrangements followed COVID-19 guidance. Risks were assessed and reviewed, and earlier concerns about food and fluid monitoring had been addressed.
The home was also judged to be well led. Inspectors found an approachable management team, effective audits and action plans, and a positive team culture. The overall rating stayed Good, but Effective, Caring and Responsive were not inspected during this visit. Their previous ratings were used instead.
Safe staffing
Inspectors found enough staff on duty and saw staff respond promptly to people's needs. Recruitment checks were completed before staff started work.
“There were enough staff on duty to ensure people's safety.” from the report
Medicines
Medicines were stored, administered and recorded safely. Staff had training and regular checks of their competence.
“Medicines were stored and managed safely. Staff kept appropriate records of medicines ordered, received, administered and returned for disposal.” from the report
Personalised risk support
Risk assessments were detailed and tailored to individuals. Inspectors found that people and families were involved where appropriate.
“Risk assessments were personalised, detailed and gave staff clear guidance on ensuring people were supported safely.” from the report
Management and teamwork
People, relatives and staff described the management as supportive and approachable. Audits, meetings and action plans were used to monitor quality and share learning.
“There were effective systems in place to ensure views from visiting health professionals, people, relatives and staff were fully considered and acted upon.” from the report
Falls and incident reviews
needs fixingThe home had identified an increase in falls, incidents and accidents. The manager was still improving the system for reviewing these events and was introducing extra monitoring to help reduce them.
“The registered manager was in the process of making improvements to the system for reviewing accidents and incidents.” from the report
- 01How many falls have there been recently, and what has changed as a result of reviewing them?
- 02What progress has been made with the new acoustic monitoring system intended to reduce night-time falls and incidents?
- 03How will you make sure food and fluid monitoring remains accurate and safe?
- 04What are the current ratings and evidence for Effective, Caring and Responsive, which were not inspected during this visit?
This was a focused inspection of Safe and Well-led only; the ratings for Effective, Caring and Responsive carried over from the previous inspection. This explanation was written from the published report of 22 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.
What inspectors found, March 2022
Cheriton Care Home: Inspected but not rated; inspectors found kind care and good infection controls, but food and drink monitoring needed improvement.
This was an unannounced targeted inspection on 20 and 25 January 2022. Inspectors looked mainly at infection prevention and control, visiting arrangements and staffing pressures linked to COVID-19. They also widened the inspection after finding concerns about monitoring people's food and drink intake.
Inspectors found staff were kind, knew people well and that enough staff were available. The home was clean, visitors were supported to visit safely and staff generally used protective equipment and good hand hygiene. Extra cleaning of frequently touched areas was started during the inspection.
Records did not give a reliable enough picture of how much some people were drinking. The provider said this was caused by an electronic recording error and took immediate action, but inspectors could not assess whether the changes worked. The service was inspected but not rated, so this report does not give a new overall rating.
Kind and familiar staff
People told inspectors that staff were kind and welcoming. Inspectors also found that staff knew people well.
“I am very happy. The staff are very kind and welcoming.” from the report
Enough staff
Inspectors found that staffing levels were sufficient to meet people's needs. Staff also said they felt supported by colleagues and senior staff.
“There were enough staff deployed to meet people's needs.” from the report
Infection control
The home had arrangements for PPE, testing, visiting, social distancing and managing outbreaks. Inspectors were assured about most of these measures.
“We were assured that the provider was using PPE effectively and safely.” from the report
Clean environment
People lived in a home that was kept clean. Additional cleaning of touch points was introduced during the inspection.
“We became assured that the provider was promoting safety through the layout and hygiene practices of the premises.” from the report
Food and drink records
needs fixingInspectors found that records did not reliably show whether people at risk were drinking enough. The provider identified an electronic recording problem and took immediate action, but inspectors could not check whether the changes were effective.
“We recommend that you develop the oversight of food and fluid monitoring to ensure people are supported safely with drinks and food.” from the report
Extra cleaning was needed
minorCare staff were not carrying out additional cleaning of touch points after housekeeping staff had left. The registered manager put this right during the inspection.
“We noted that care staff were not doing additional cleaning of touch points after the housekeeping staff had left.” from the report
- 01How do you now record and check how much each person drinks, especially people at risk of dehydration?
- 02How do you check that the electronic recording system is working accurately?
- 03What quality checks are now used to identify problems with food and fluid monitoring?
- 04How are frequently touched areas cleaned after housekeeping staff have finished?
- 05How are essential care giver visits and testing arrangements being managed?
This was a targeted inspection of infection prevention and control, visiting arrangements, staffing pressures and specific concerns about food and drink monitoring; the other key questions were not assessed and the previous Good rating was not changed. This explanation was written from the published report of 9 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.
Every inspection of Cheriton Care Home
6 rated inspections over 6 years: the service has improved, from Requires improvement to Good.
- July 2022Goodcurrent ratingSafe: GoodEffective: GoodCaring: GoodResponsive: GoodWell-led: Good
- March 2022Inspected but not ratedSafe: Inspected but not rated
- March 2019Goodup from Requires improvementSafe: GoodWell-led: Good
- February 2018Requires improvementup from InadequateSafe: Requires improvementEffective: GoodCaring: Requires improvementResponsive: Requires improvementWell-led: Requires improvement
- August 2017Inadequatedown from Requires improvementSafe: InadequateEffective: Requires improvementCaring: InadequateResponsive: InadequateWell-led: Inadequate
- July 2017Requires improvementstayed Requires improvementSafe: Requires improvementEffective: GoodCaring: GoodResponsive: GoodWell-led: Inadequate
- March 2016Requires improvementSafe: Requires improvementEffective: Requires improvementCaring: Requires improvementResponsive: Requires improvementWell-led: Requires improvement
- July 2015
Registered with the Care Quality Commission on 2 July 2015.
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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Most charge £1,040 to £1,340 a week. 11 can care for a couple. 10 years' experience on average.
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