CQC report explained · a residential care home
What the CQC found at Cowbridge residential care home
Rated Good: inspectors found the home performing well and meeting their expectations.
- Safe?
- Good
- People were protected from abuse and avoidable harm. Risks, medicines, infection control, staffing, equipment and emergency arrangements were checked and found to be managed safely.
- Effective?
- Good
- This area was not inspected during this visit, so no new rating was given.
- Caring?
- Good
- This area was not inspected during this visit, so no new rating was given.
- Responsive?
- Good
- This area was not inspected during this visit, so no new rating was given.
- Well-led?
- Good
- Inspectors found a positive, person-centred culture, clear responsibilities and effective quality audits. The management change was noted, but the service had an experienced replacement manager due to take over.
What inspectors found, February 2023
Cowbridge residential care home: Rated Good; inspectors found safe care and effective leadership, with some management and authorisation issues to monitor.
This was an unannounced inspection on 23 January 2023. One inspector spoke with six people living in the home, a relative, seven staff members and a health professional. Records, care plans, medicine records, staff files, safeguarding information and quality checks were also reviewed.
Inspectors rated Safe and Well-led as Good. They found people were protected from abuse, risks were assessed, medicines were managed safely and infection controls were in place. Staff were seen responding to people's needs, although staff said there could sometimes be shortages.
The home had a positive, person-centred culture. Care plans were reviewed, staff worked with health professionals and quality audits were being used. The registered manager had recently left, and a replacement manager was due to take over and apply for registration.
This inspection did not assess all five CQC areas. The overall Good rating used the new Safe and Well-led findings together with the previous ratings from the comprehensive inspection published on 19 December 2017.
People felt safe
People told inspectors they felt safe. Staff had safeguarding training and knew how to raise concerns.
“People were protected from the risk of abuse and avoidable harm.” from the report
Safe medicines
Medicines were given as prescribed. Records, storage, controlled drug entries and audits were checked and found to be in order.
“Medicines were managed safely and effectively. People received them on times and as prescribed.” from the report
Person-centred care
Care plans and risk assessments were reviewed regularly. Staff understood people's individual choices and communication needs.
“People's care plans and risk assessments had been kept under regular review.” from the report
Quality monitoring
The home had regular audits and action plans to identify concerns and improve its performance.
“There were effective quality assurance and auditing systems in place designed to drive improvements in the service's performance.” from the report
Occasional staffing shortages
minorStaff said there could be times when staffing was short, although gaps were filled by other members of the staff team.
“Staff told us there could be times when they were short of staff but that any gaps were filled in by other members of the staff team.” from the report
Delayed legal renewals
minorSome required renewals of authorisations under the Mental Capacity Act were delayed because of the volume of applications held by the local authority.
“Some applications which required renewal were delayed, due to the volume of applications sent to the local authority.” from the report
- 01Has the replacement manager now taken over, and have they applied to register with the CQC?
- 02How do you maintain safe staffing levels when there are staff shortages?
- 03Are all required Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards renewals now up to date?
- 04What were the findings of the most recent reviews of care plans, medicines and risk assessments?
- 05What were the previous ratings for Effective, Caring and Responsive, which were not assessed during this inspection?
This was an unannounced focused inspection of Safe and Well-led, including infection prevention and control; the other ratings carried over from the comprehensive inspection published on 19 December 2017. This explanation was written from the published report of 17 February 2023 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, February 2022
Cowbridge residential care home was inspected but not rated; inspectors found good infection control and staffing arrangements during a COVID-19 outbreak.
This was a targeted inspection on 27 January 2022. Inspectors looked at infection prevention and control, visiting arrangements and whether COVID-19-related staff shortages affected care. The visit was announced with 24 hours' notice.
The home was supporting 24 people at the time, although it can accommodate up to 30. Inspectors spoke with five people, two relatives and four staff, as well as the management team.
Inspectors were assured about PPE, testing, cleaning, social distancing, visiting arrangements and the management of the outbreak. They also found that staffing shortages had been managed without affecting the quality of support people received.
The service was inspected but not rated. This was not a full inspection of all five CQC areas, so the report does not give an overall quality rating.
Staffing during the outbreak
The home used its own staff team and an internal agency system to manage COVID-19-related absences. Inspectors found this did not affect staffing levels or the quality of support.
“Staffing absences, due to COVID-19 infections and other issues had not impacted on staffing levels or the quality of support people received.” from the report
Infection control
Inspectors were assured that the home had arrangements for PPE, testing, cleaning, social distancing and managing infection outbreaks.
“Additional cleaning protocols were in place to ensure all high touch points were regularly sanitised.” from the report
Visiting arrangements
The home was following the guidance for visits during the outbreak. People and relatives spoken with understood the restrictions and felt staff were keeping them informed.
“The service was following current guidance in relation to visiting care homes during outbreaks of COVID-19.” from the report
People's views of care
All five people inspectors spoke with said they were happy with the care they received. Relatives also said they felt their family members were being cared for well.
“All five people we spoke with were happy with the care they received.” from the report
Inspectors raised no specific concerns in this report.
- 01How are staffing levels maintained if staff are absent because of COVID-19 or other illness?
- 02What are the current rules for visiting during an infection outbreak, and what PPE or testing must visitors use?
- 03How often are residents and staff tested, and how are positive results managed?
- 04How often are high-touch areas cleaned and checked?
- 05How do you make sure visiting professionals meet the COVID-19 vaccination requirements?
This was a targeted inspection of infection prevention and control, visiting arrangements and COVID-19-related staffing pressures; the service was inspected but not rated overall. This explanation was written from the published report of 16 February 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 Cowbridge residential care home
3 rated inspections over 7 years: the service has held its Good rating throughout.
- February 2023Goodcurrent ratingSafe: GoodEffective: GoodCaring: GoodResponsive: GoodWell-led: Good
Read what inspectors found at Cowbridge residential care home →
- February 2022Inspected but not ratedSafe: Inspected but not rated
Read what inspectors found at Cowbridge residential care home →
- December 2017Goodstayed GoodSafe: GoodWell-led: Good
- October 2015GoodSafe: GoodEffective: GoodCaring: OutstandingResponsive: GoodWell-led: Good
- August 2013
Report published without a new overall rating.
- April 2013
Report published without a new overall rating.
- March 2012
Report published without a new overall rating.
- July 2011
Report published without a new overall rating.
- December 2010
Registered with the Care Quality Commission on 30 December 2010.
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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