CQC report explained · a residential care home
What the CQC found at Dimensions Somerset Spring View
Rated Good: inspectors found the home performing well and meeting their expectations.
What inspectors found, December 2021
Dimensions Somerset Spring View was rated Requires Improvement; inspectors found kind care and good safety, but staffing, staff support and management needed improvement.
Inspectors visited unannounced on 4 and 11 November 2021. They observed care, spoke with relatives and staff, and checked care plans, medicine records, rotas, training records and supervision records.
People were generally safe, treated kindly and supported with personalised care. Staff protected people from abuse, infection control arrangements were suitable, and relatives spoke positively about the kindness of staff. People also received support from health professionals and stayed in contact with family and friends.
The main problems were staff vacancies, reliance on temporary staff and overdue staff supervision. This affected how consistently staff could meet people's complex needs. Some safe eating and drinking instructions were not followed, and medicine recording needed improvement.
The overall rating Requires Improvement means the home was not consistently providing a high enough standard of care. The safe, caring and responsive areas were rated Good. Effective and well-led were rated Requires Improvement.
Kind and respectful care
Inspectors saw staff treating people with compassion, dignity and respect. Relatives also described staff as kind and caring.
“We saw only positive and respectful interactions between people and staff during our visits to the home.” from the report
Protection from abuse
Staff knew how to recognise and report abuse. People appeared comfortable and relaxed with staff.
“Risks of abuse were minimised because staff knew how to recognise and report issues of abuse.” from the report
Health support
People were supported to see health professionals, and professional advice was included in their care plans.
“We saw evidence of regular consultations with doctors and other healthcare professionals when people needed them.” from the report
Staffing shortages
seriousThere were five full-time staff vacancies and a reliance on temporary staff. Inspectors found that short staffing could reduce the quality and consistency of care.
“There were five full time vacancies in the staff team; recruitment was ongoing.” from the report
Overdue staff supervision
seriousSupervisions were not being held as planned. Thirteen staff members had overdue supervision, some by several months, and the report says this breached Regulation 18.
“The records we looked at showed 13 staff member's supervisions were overdue, some by several months.” from the report
Care instructions not always followed
seriousSome staff did not follow all safe eating and drinking instructions, including a required oral care step after meals. Staff could also miss parts of care plans when shifts were short staffed.
“However, some measures to reduce the risk of aspiration and choking were not always followed.” from the report
Management changes
needs fixingThe previous manager had left shortly before the inspection and there had been several management changes over the years. Relatives said this was unsettling.
“Two relatives were concerned about the changes in management; they felt this was unsettling for people, relatives and staff.” from the report
Medicine records
needs fixingPeople were receiving their regular medicines as prescribed in the records checked, but records for creams and other external medicines needed improvement.
“However improvements were needed to the way people's creams and external preparations were recorded.” from the report
Limited communication support
needs fixingStaff who knew people well understood their communication, but newer staff found this harder. The home made little practical use of pictures, symbols or sign language.
“There was little practical use of additional communication systems such as pictures, picture symbols or sign language to support spoken language.” from the report
- 01Have the minimum staffing levels remained at four staff on each shift, and are there still staff vacancies?
- 02How do you make sure agency and relief staff understand each person's communication, eating and drinking, mobility and care needs?
- 03Have all overdue staff supervisions and appraisals now been completed, and how are they recorded?
- 04What changes have been made to medicine records, especially for creams and other external preparations?
- 05What communication tools and transport arrangements are now available to support people to communicate and go out?
This inspection covered all five key questions; the safe and well-led questions had previously been inspected in a focused inspection on 6 August 2020. This explanation was written from the published report of 23 December 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.
What inspectors found, October 2020
Inspected but not rated; safe and well-led were Good, with improvements but concerns about staff turnover and responding early to anxiety.
This was a focused inspection on 6 August 2020. Inspectors spoke with people living at the home, relatives and staff. They observed care and checked care records, medicines records, staff files and other documents. The inspection also looked at infection control during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The home was rated Good for Safe and Well-led. Inspectors found enough safely recruited staff, safe medicines systems, risk assessments and infection control arrangements. People appeared safe and happy with staff, and relatives described major improvements under the new manager.
There were still some weaknesses. Staff had not always acted early when people became anxious, and there had previously been high staff and manager turnover. The home had action plans and inspectors saw evidence that concerns were being addressed.
There is no overall rating because this was the first inspection under the current registration and only Safe and Well-led were inspected. The other three areas were not checked and were not rated.
Person-centred support
People had support aimed at giving them choice, control, independence and opportunities to develop skills.
“The support had been arranged in a way to ensure people received person-centred care could maximise their independence, choice and control.” from the report
Safe medicines
Medicines were recorded, stored and audited safely. Staff were trained and assessed before giving medicines.
“Medicines were managed safely. People were well supported with their medicines.” from the report
Improving leadership
The manager and provider had clear action plans and were taking action when new concerns were found.
“The registered manager, with support from the provider, had implemented clear action plans of areas which needed to improve in the home.” from the report
Infection control
The home was clean, used additional cleaning and had systems to reduce the risk of COVID-19 infection spreading.
“Additional cleaning around the home had been put in place to reduce risk of infection spreading.” from the report
Responding to anxiety
needs fixingStaff were not always familiar with proactive ways to reduce anxiety. This could allow behaviour to escalate and affect the person or others.
“However, staff appeared unfamiliar with proactive ways to reduce anxiety and prevent an escalation in behaviour at times.” from the report
Staff turnover
needs fixingThere had previously been high turnover and high use of agency staff. Relatives and staff said this had affected consistent care and safety in the past.
“Both staff and relatives expressed this had in the past impacted on consistency of care and safety of people.” from the report
- 01How do staff recognise early signs that someone is becoming anxious, and what proactive support do they use?
- 02How many permanent staff currently work at the home, and how often are agency staff used?
- 03What action has been taken to keep care consistent after the earlier staff and manager turnover?
- 04How do you check that staff use PPE correctly and consistently?
- 05What were the deadlines in the improvement action plan, and which actions remain outstanding?
This was a focused inspection of Safe and Well-led only; Effective, Caring and Responsive were not inspected or rated. This explanation was written from the published report of 14 October 2020 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 Dimensions Somerset Spring View
Each visit the CQC has published, newest first, back to the day the home was registered.
- December 2021Requires improvementcurrent ratingSafe: GoodEffective: Requires improvementCaring: GoodResponsive: GoodWell-led: Requires improvement
Read what inspectors found at Dimensions Somerset Spring View →
- October 2020Inspected but not ratedSafe: GoodWell-led: Good
Read what inspectors found at Dimensions Somerset Spring View →
- April 2017
Registered with the Care Quality Commission on 3 April 2017.
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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76 live-in carers within about two hours of Somerset
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 £1,370 a week. 62 can care for a couple. 12 years' experience on average.
“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.”
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