CQC report explained · a residential care home
What the CQC found at Edwardstow Court Care Centre
Rated Good: inspectors found the home performing well and meeting their expectations.
- Safe?
- Good
- Inspectors checked medicines, safeguarding, falls and infection control. They found safeguarding systems and infection controls were working, but medicine records and the recording of actions after falls needed strengthening.
- Effective?
- Good
- This question was not assessed during this targeted inspection.
- Caring?
- Good
- This question was not assessed during this targeted inspection.
- Responsive?
- Outstanding
- This question was not assessed during this targeted inspection.
- Well-led?
- Good
- This question was not assessed during this targeted inspection, although inspectors considered some management and quality monitoring arrangements linked to the concerns.
What inspectors found, November 2022
Targeted inspection not rated; the previous overall rating remained Good, with safeguarding and infection controls reassuring but medicines and falls records still being strengthened.
This was an unannounced targeted inspection on 12 October 2022. Inspectors looked at concerns about medicines, safeguarding and falls, and also checked infection prevention and control. They spoke with people and staff and reviewed care, medicines and management records.
Staff understood how to report abuse, and safeguarding concerns had been investigated and acted on. The home monitored falls, provided extra falls training and reviewed falls each month. Inspectors also found that infection prevention arrangements were effective.
People received personalised support with their medicines, but there had been a series of medicine errors. The home was taking action, including using more consistent agency staff, improving records, and arranging further medicine checks. Records of actions after medicine audits and falls needed to be stronger.
This inspection was not a full assessment of the service. The overall rating was not changed and remained Good from the previous inspection, published on 2 December 2021. The Safe question was inspected but not rated.
Safeguarding
Staff knew how to raise safeguarding concerns. Reported allegations had been investigated and appropriate action had been taken.
“Allegations of abuse had been investigated and acted upon appropriately.” from the report
Personalised medicines support
Staff knew people well and gave medicines in ways that reflected individual preferences. Reviews and support for medicines taken when needed were in place.
“Staff knew people well and gave medicines in a personalised way.” from the report
Falls monitoring
The registered manager monitored falls, staff had falls training, and monthly audits were used to look for patterns.
“Falls audits were completed monthly so any patterns could be closely monitored.” from the report
Infection control
Inspectors were assured that the home had arrangements to prevent and manage infection outbreaks, including safe use of protective equipment.
“We were assured that the provider was responding effectively to risks and signs of infection.” from the report
Medicine errors
seriousThe home had experienced a series of medicine errors. Management requested more consistent agency staff to reduce the risk of further errors.
“However due to a series of medication errors, management at the home had requested consistent staff from the agency to minimise errors.” from the report
Interruptions during medicine rounds
needs fixingStaff said they were sometimes interrupted while administering medicines because other staff were not available to respond to people.
“Staff told us they were at times interrupted when doing the medicines administration rounds when other staff were not available to respond to people.” from the report
Records of improvement actions
needs fixingThe home was still improving how it recorded actions following medicine incidents and audits. It was also developing records of actions needed after falls.
“The registered manager was developing the recording of any actions taken or required to further strengthen this process.” from the report
- 01What medicine errors have happened recently, and what has changed to prevent them happening again?
- 02How do you make sure staff are not interrupted during medicine administration rounds?
- 03What did the pharmacy audit in November 2022 find, and which actions were completed?
- 04How are actions after falls recorded, followed up and checked for completion?
- 05How do you make sure agency staff understand each person's medicine needs and care arrangements?
This was a targeted inspection of specific concerns about medicines, safeguarding, falls and infection control; it did not assess the full Safe question or the other four key questions, so previous ratings carried over. This explanation was written from the published report of 17 November 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.
What inspectors found, December 2021
Edwardstow Court Care Centre was rated Good overall, with Outstanding responsiveness and kind, personalised care.
Inspectors visited unannounced on 18 and 19 October 2021. They spoke with people living in the home, relatives, staff and visiting professionals. They observed care and reviewed care plans, medicines records, staff files and management records.
The home was rated Good for Safe, Effective, Caring and Well-led. Inspectors found people were protected from abuse, received suitable care and food, were treated with dignity, and benefited from trained staff and strong management.
Responsive was rated Outstanding. Inspectors found that activities, routines and care were highly tailored to people's interests, beliefs, preferences and needs. The overall rating remained Good, the same as at the previous inspection in March 2019, while Responsive improved from Good to Outstanding.
Personalised activities
Activities were planned around people's interests, abilities and needs. The home supported varied activities, personal goals and links with the community.
“People were supported to engage in activities which were meaningful to them.” from the report
Flexible daily routines
People could influence their routines, including when they got up, went to bed, took some medicines and ate their main meal.
“People were given the power to influence their own care and adjustments were made to reflect their wishes.” from the report
Kind and respectful care
Staff treated people with compassion and respect. Inspectors saw staff support independence, privacy and people's right to make choices.
“People received kind and compassionate care; throughout the inspection we heard staff use positive, respectful language at a level people understood and responded well to.” from the report
Learning culture
Managers reviewed incidents, complaints and feedback, and used this information to make changes and reduce the chance of similar problems happening again.
“An effective and robust system of quality assurance checks both at service and provider level helped ensure continuous development and improvement of people's care.” from the report
Safe care
Inspectors found suitable safeguarding arrangements, risk assessments, staffing, medicines procedures and infection control measures.
“People were protected from the risk of abuse.” from the report
Inspectors raised no specific concerns in this report.
- 01How would you tailor activities and daily routines to my relative's interests, beliefs, communication needs and abilities?
- 02How do you review medicine times and other care arrangements when a person's routine or wellbeing changes?
- 03What staffing levels and skills would be available for my relative's nursing, dementia care and moving and handling needs?
- 04How would you keep my relative and our family involved in care planning, complaints and decisions about end-of-life wishes?
- 05How do you check that lessons from incidents, complaints and staff feedback have led to lasting improvements?
This unannounced inspection assessed all five CQC questions and included checks on infection prevention and control, with the previous overall rating reported as Good. This explanation was written from the published report of 2 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.
Every inspection of Edwardstow Court Care Centre
2 rated inspections over 3 years: the service has held its Good rating throughout.
- November 2022Inspected but not ratedcurrent ratingSafe: Inspected but not rated
Read what inspectors found at Edwardstow Court Care Centre →
- December 2021Goodstayed GoodSafe: GoodEffective: GoodCaring: GoodResponsive: OutstandingWell-led: Good
Read what inspectors found at Edwardstow Court Care Centre →
- March 2019GoodSafe: GoodEffective: GoodCaring: GoodResponsive: GoodWell-led: Good
- March 2018
Registered with the Care Quality Commission on 22 March 2018.
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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38 live-in carers within about an hour of Gloucestershire
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 £1,030 to £1,360 a week. 31 can care for a couple. 12 years' experience on average.
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