CQC report explained · a residential care home
What the CQC found at Coombes Wood House
Rated Good: inspectors found the home performing well and meeting their expectations.
- Safe?
- Good
- Risks were assessed and monitored, medicines were managed safely, staffing levels were checked and people were safeguarded from abuse. Infection prevention and control arrangements were also in place.
- Effective?
- Good
- People's needs and preferences were assessed and reviewed. Staff worked with health professionals, supported eating and drinking, received training and followed the principles of the Mental Capacity Act.
- Caring?
- Good
- People were treated with kindness, dignity and respect. Staff knew people well and involved them in decisions about their care and daily lives.
- Responsive?
- Good
- Care plans reflected people's needs and preferences and were regularly updated. People were supported with communication, activities, relationships and complaints.
- Well-led?
- Good
- People, relatives and staff spoke positively about the management and culture. Audits were in place, but checks on some records were not robust enough and a stronger system was introduced during the inspection.
What inspectors found, June 2022
Rated Good; inspectors found safe, kind and personalised care, with some monitoring records needing stronger checks.
This was an unannounced inspection on 19 May 2022. The inspection team spoke with four people, 16 relatives, nine staff and two visiting professionals. They reviewed care plans, medicine records, staff files and management records.
The home was rated Good overall and Good in all five areas: Safe, Effective, Caring, Responsive and Well-led. Inspectors found that people were protected from abuse, medicines were managed safely, staffing was monitored and infection control arrangements were in place.
People and relatives spoke positively about the care. Inspectors saw kind and respectful interactions. Staff supported people's choices, health needs, meals, activities and relationships, including people with dementia and complex mental health needs.
Inspectors found that monitoring of activities, repositioning and food and fluid records was not as robust as it should have been. The home put a stronger checking system in place during the inspection. This was the first inspection of this newly registered service. The previous provider had been rated Requires Improvement in 2019.
Risk management
Inspectors found that risks were assessed and action was taken to reduce them. Pressure damage risks were well managed and falls were monitored.
“Risks to people were assessed, and steps taken to reduce the risk of them occurring.” from the report
Kind and respectful care
People and relatives spoke positively about staff. Inspectors saw friendly, professional interactions and staff supporting people's dignity and independence.
“Throughout the inspection we saw caring and kind interactions between people and staff, who had professional but friendly relationships.” from the report
Personalised support
Care was based on people's assessed needs and preferences. People were involved in planning and reviewing their support.
“People's care was based on their assessed needs and preferences.” from the report
Support for complex needs
The home worked with external professionals and was praised for supporting people with complex mental health needs.
“They have settled beautifully into Coombes Wood House and from day one, they have ensured they manage their challenges with dignity and respect.” from the report
Some monitoring needed stronger checks
needs fixingAudits did not always provide robust checks of daily fluid totals, repositioning and individual activities. The registered manager put a stronger checking system in place during the inspection.
“some auditing was not as robust as it could be.” from the report
- 01How is the stronger checking system now recording food and fluid totals?
- 02How do you record and review repositioning for people who need it?
- 03How are individual activities matched to my relative's interests and recorded?
- 04How would you meet my relative's health needs, given that this is a care home without nursing?
- 05How would you support my relative if they have dementia or complex mental health needs?
This was the first comprehensive inspection of the newly registered service and covered all five key questions; infection prevention and control was also checked under Safe. This explanation was written from the published report of 24 June 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 Coombes Wood House
3 rated inspections over 5 years: the service has held its Good rating throughout.
- June 2022Goodcurrent ratingup from Requires improvementSafe: GoodEffective: GoodCaring: GoodResponsive: GoodWell-led: Good
- August 2019Requires improvementdown from GoodSafe: Requires improvementEffective: GoodCaring: GoodResponsive: GoodWell-led: Requires improvement
- February 2017GoodSafe: GoodEffective: GoodCaring: GoodResponsive: GoodWell-led: Good
- June 2014Inspected but not rated
- September 2020
Registered with the Care Quality Commission on 21 September 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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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.