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CQC report explained · a residential care home

What the CQC found at Doneraile Residential Care Home

Goodpublished 3 April 2020, 6 years ago

Rated Good: inspectors found the home performing well and meeting their expectations.

The five questions inspectors ask
Safe?
Good
Inspectors found effective safeguarding, risk assessments, staffing and recruitment arrangements. Medicines, infection control, equipment and accidents were managed safely.
Effective?
Good
People's health needs were assessed and supported by trained staff and external healthcare professionals. Inspectors also found good support with food, drinks, mobility, consent and people's legal rights.
Caring?
Good
Staff knew people well and treated them with kindness, dignity and respect. People were involved in daily choices and staff supported their independence.
Responsive?
Good
Care plans were personalised and reflected people's needs and preferences. The home offered activities, supported communication and relationships, responded to complaints and provided end of life care.
Well-led?
Good
Inspectors found visible and supportive management, regular audits and good communication with people, relatives, staff and professionals. The home had acted on the previous recommendation.
The latest report, explained

What inspectors found, April 2020

Rated Good; inspectors found safe, kind and personalised care, with improvements to care records since the previous inspection.

This was a planned inspection on 12 March 2020. The inspector spoke with people living in the home, relatives, staff and a healthcare professional. They also checked care records, medicines records, staff files and management records.

All five areas were rated Good: Safe, Effective, Caring, Responsive and Well-led. Inspectors found enough trained staff, safe medicines practice, clean premises and good support with health, food, activities and personal care.

The home had acted on a recommendation from the previous inspection. Care plans had been reviewed and moved to an electronic system, and now reflected people's individual needs and preferences. The overall Good rating remained unchanged.

What inspectors praised
  • Personalised care

    Staff understood people's backgrounds, preferences and health needs. Care records had been improved so they gave more individual guidance.

    “People were treated as individuals and staff had a good understanding of their backgrounds, personal likes and dislikes and health needs.” from the report
  • Safe medicines

    People received medicines safely and on time. Staff had medicines training and regular checks of their competence.

    “People received their medicines safely and on time. Staff were trained in medicines management and had regular competency checks to ensure ongoing safe practice.” from the report
  • Activities and social contact

    The home offered different activities, trips and celebrations. Staff also spent one-to-one time with people who stayed in their rooms or needed support to avoid isolation.

    “There were a range of activities on offer including music, games, quizzes, exercises, pamper sessions and ball games.” from the report
  • Learning from the previous inspection

    The home had improved its care planning after the previous recommendation. The rating remained Good.

    “At this inspection we found improvements had been made and the rating has remained good.” from the report
What inspectors were concerned about

Inspectors raised no specific concerns in this report.

Questions to ask them, based on this report
  1. 01How will you assess and update my relative's electronic care plan when their needs or preferences change?
  2. 02How will you involve our family in care plan reviews and decisions about daily care?
  3. 03What activities would be suitable for my relative's interests, health needs and communication abilities?
  4. 04How do you monitor medicines that are prescribed only when needed, such as pain relief or medicines for anxiety?
  5. 05How would you support my relative's wishes and comfort if they needed end of life care?

This was a planned inspection covering the overall quality of the home and all five CQC questions; the previous Good ratings were reviewed and remained Good. This explanation was written from the published report of 3 April 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.

An earlier report, explained

What inspectors found, August 2017

Rated Good; inspectors found kind, safe care, but records and some privacy arrangements needed improvement.

Inspectors visited on 17 June 2017. The inspection was announced 24 hours beforehand. They spoke with people, staff, relatives and district nurses, observed care, looked around the home and checked care, staff and management records.

They found people were relaxed and treated with kindness and respect. Staffing levels were sufficient, medicines were usually managed well, people received healthcare support and activities were available. Staff understood people's needs and supported their choices.

There were some shortfalls. Some medicine record entries were not double-signed. Some care plans lacked enough detail to guide staff. Inspectors also raised concerns about privacy in parts of the building and a basement door opening onto steep stairs. The home said it would take action.

The overall rating was Good, with Good ratings for Safe, Effective, Caring, Responsive and Well-led. This means inspectors judged the home to be meeting the relevant standards at the time of this inspection, although Good does not mean that everything was perfect.

What inspectors praised
  • Kind relationships

    People appeared relaxed and at ease with staff. Inspectors saw caring, respectful and unhurried interactions.

    “People had good and meaningful relationships with staff and staff interacted with people in a caring and respectful manner.” from the report
  • Enough suitable staff

    Inspectors found enough suitably qualified staff on duty. Recruitment checks included Disclosure and Barring Service checks.

    “There were sufficient numbers of suitably qualified staff on duty to keep people safe and meet their needs.” from the report
  • Choice and activities

    People could make everyday choices and had activities linked to their interests, including outings and visiting entertainers.

    “People had access to a range of activities that were meaningful for them and reflected their individual preferences.” from the report
  • Open management

    People, relatives and staff described the management as approachable. There were systems for gathering views and checking the service.

    “There was a positive culture within the staff team and it was clear they all worked well together.” from the report
What inspectors were concerned about
  • Medicine records

    needs fixing

    Some handwritten medicine entries and alterations had not been signed by two people. The home's audits had not picked this up.

    “Some handwritten entries and alterations had been made to the MARs. These had not been signed by two people as recommended by NICE guidelines.” from the report
  • Care plan detail

    needs fixing

    Some care plans did not explain in enough detail how staff should support people according to their preferences. Inspectors made a recommendation for improvement.

    “The information was brief and lacked the detail necessary to guide staff on how to support people according to their individual preferences.” from the report
  • Privacy in the building

    needs fixing

    The layout of some areas could affect privacy and dignity. This included a bedroom and shared bathroom opening onto the dining room, and a toilet door where a person's outline could be seen.

    “One person's bedroom and a shared bathroom opened directly onto the dining room.” from the report
  • Basement door

    needs fixing

    A basement laundry door opened onto steep stairs and could not be locked from inside. Inspectors highlighted the potential risk, and the home said it would arrange a lock.

    “There was no way to lock the door from the inside which meant it was unlocked when in use.” from the report
Questions to ask them, based on this report
  1. 01Have all handwritten medicine entries and alterations been double-signed, and how are medicine records now audited?
  2. 02Have care plans been rewritten with enough detail to show each person's preferences and the support staff must provide?
  3. 03What changes have been made to protect privacy around the bedroom, shared bathroom and communal toilet?
  4. 04Has the basement laundry door been fitted with a lock that can be used from inside?
  5. 05How do you check that actions promised after this inspection have been completed and remain effective?

This was an announced inspection of the overall service, covering all five quality questions, with observations, interviews and checks of care, staffing and management records. This explanation was written from the published report of 1 August 2017 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.

The story over the years

Every inspection of Doneraile Residential Care Home

3 rated inspections over 5 years: the service has held its Good rating throughout.

  1. April 2020Goodcurrent ratingstayed Good
    Safe: GoodEffective: GoodCaring: GoodResponsive: GoodWell-led: Good

    Read what inspectors found at Doneraile Residential Care Home →

  2. August 2017Goodstayed Good
    Safe: GoodEffective: GoodCaring: GoodResponsive: GoodWell-led: Good

    Read what inspectors found at Doneraile Residential Care Home →

  3. August 2015Good
    Safe: GoodEffective: GoodCaring: GoodResponsive: GoodWell-led: Good

    Read this report on cqc.org.uk

  4. August 2014

    Registered with the Care Quality Commission on 2 August 2014.

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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