CQC report explained · a residential care home
What the CQC found at Clifton House
Rated Requires improvement: inspectors found the home was not performing as well as it should and told it what to change.
What inspectors found, November 2021
Rated Requires Improvement; inspectors found kind, person-centred care but serious gaps in safeguarding, medicines and management checks.
This was the home's first inspection since it registered. Inspectors visited on three days, spoke with people, staff and a professional, and reviewed care, medicines, recruitment and management records. The inspection was unannounced.
People were treated with kindness and supported to make choices, stay independent and take part in activities. The ratings for Effective, Caring and Responsive were Good.
The home was not always safe. Inspectors found weaknesses in reporting possible abuse, risk assessments, medicines records, infection control checks and recruitment records. The provider and registered manager acted on several issues during or after the inspection.
The overall rating was Requires Improvement. Well-led was also Requires Improvement because the checks used to find and fix problems were not strong enough. The provider was asked for an action plan, and the report says CQC would monitor progress and return to inspect again.
Kind and respectful care
People said staff listened to them and treated them well. Inspectors found that staff supported privacy, dignity and individual choices.
“Staff treated people with kindness and compassion. A person said, "I feel happy here, I've found my confidence … staff are friendly and helpful.” from the report
Choice and independence
People were involved in everyday decisions and encouraged to cook, clean and set personal goals.
“Staff supported and encouraged people to be independent. People told us they could do their own cooking and cleaning.” from the report
Personalised support
Care plans included people's likes, dislikes, life histories, beliefs and preferred ways of communicating.
“People's care plans contained information about how they liked to be supported. They included people's likes and dislikes.” from the report
Community and relationships
People were supported to see family, socialise and take part in activities such as swimming and going to the pub.
“There were established links with the local community and people were supported and encouraged to access a range of activities.” from the report
Safeguarding notifications
seriousSome allegations of abuse had been investigated but not reported to the local safeguarding teams. This was a breach of Regulation 13.
“The provider and registered manager had not implemented a system and process to ensure all allegations of abuse had been notified to the local safeguarding teams.” from the report
Weak quality checks
seriousThe provider had no effective system to audit the home, and the manager's audits had missed several safety and legal concerns. This was a breach of Regulation 17.
“The provider had no systems and processes in place to audit the home.” from the report
Risk assessments
needs fixingSome risk assessments lacked enough detail or had not been followed. Inspectors also found an open fire door and emergency records that did not reflect who was living at the home.
“The kitchen door, which was a fire door, was propped open which posed a risk if there was a fire.” from the report
Infection control checks
needs fixingSome COVID-19 risks for staff, people and visitors had not been properly assessed. The report says the inspectors were only somewhat assured about several infection prevention measures.
“We found some risks relating to COVID-19 had not always been properly assessed, this included risk assessments for staff and people and risks relating to visitors.” from the report
- 01What has been done to make sure every allegation of abuse is reported to the local safeguarding team and CQC when required?
- 02How are medicines used when needed recorded now, and how are prescribed creams dated and checked?
- 03What new audit system and external checks have been introduced since the inspection?
- 04How are people's risk assessments, fire safety arrangements and emergency plans kept up to date?
- 05What changes have been made to assess and manage COVID-19 risks for people, staff and visitors?
This was the first full inspection of the newly registered care home and covered all five key questions, including infection prevention and control under Safe. This explanation was written from the published report of 3 November 2021 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 Clifton House
Each visit the CQC has published, newest first, back to the day the home was registered.
- November 2021Requires improvementcurrent ratingSafe: Requires improvementEffective: GoodCaring: GoodResponsive: GoodWell-led: Requires improvement
- March 2020
Registered with the Care Quality Commission on 26 March 2020.
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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