CQC report explained · a residential care home
What the CQC found at 185 Arabella Drive
Rated Good: inspectors found the home performing well and meeting their expectations.
- Safe?
- Good
- People were protected from abuse and avoidable harm. Inspectors found suitable risk assessments, enough staff, safe medicines systems and appropriate infection control.
- Effective?
- Good
- This key question was not inspected during this visit. Its previous rating was used in calculating the overall rating.
- Caring?
- Good
- This key question was not inspected during this visit. Its previous rating was used in calculating the overall rating.
- Responsive?
- Good
- This key question was not inspected during this visit. Its previous rating was used in calculating the overall rating.
- Well-led?
- Good
- The home had clear leadership, regular audits and an open culture. Relatives and staff said the manager was approachable and the home was well run.
What inspectors found, August 2023
Elysium Care Partnerships Limited - 185 Arabella Drive was rated Good; inspectors found safe, person-centred care and strong management.
This was an unannounced inspection. One inspector visited on 21 June 2023 and spoke with people living in the home, relatives, staff and healthcare professionals. Records about care, risks, medicines, staffing and management were also checked.
The home supported up to 9 people with learning disabilities or autism, and all 9 places were occupied. Inspectors found enough trained staff, safe medicines practice, suitable risk assessments and positive support for people to take part in community activities.
The home was described as open, inclusive and well managed. The overall rating remained Good, the same as at the previous inspection published in August 2018. Only Safe and Well-led were inspected during this visit, so the other ratings carried over from the previous inspection.
Safe staffing
Recruitment checks were completed before staff started, and staffing levels were sufficient to meet people's needs safely.
“There were enough staff to meet people's care and support needs, flexibly and safely and staffing levels matched the rota.” from the report
Safe medicines
Medicines were administered, stored and checked safely. Records were complete and staff training was refreshed.
“People's medicines records were fully completed, and up to date.” from the report
Positive culture
Inspectors saw warm and positive interactions. The home supported people in a person-centred way and relatives described the manager as approachable.
“The home's culture resulted in good outcomes for people and was positive, open, inclusive, empowering, and person-centred.” from the report
Community activities
Staff helped people use local services and take part in activities such as farm visits, the theatre, cinema and shopping.
“Staff ensured people had access to local resources such as community-based activity services that included going on farm visits, using the trampoline, theatre, cinema, and trips to the shops.” from the report
Quality checks
The provider and home carried out regular audits covering areas such as care plans, training, finances, accidents and health and safety.
“Thorough audits were carried out by the provider, registered manager and staff that were regularly reviewed and kept up to date.” from the report
Inspectors raised no specific concerns in this report.
- 01How will you assess and review my relative's individual risks, routines and communication needs?
- 02How do you make sure medicines records stay complete and up to date for each person?
- 03What activities and community visits would be available for my relative?
- 04How would staff recognise and respond if my relative communicated distress without using words?
- 05How are relatives told about incidents, complaints or changes in care, and how are their views acted on?
This was a focused inspection of Safe and Well-led only; the other ratings carried over from the previous inspection published in 2018. This explanation was written from the published report of 1 August 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, August 2018
Elysium Care Partnerships Limited - 185 Arabella Drive was rated Good, down from Outstanding, with kind and safe care but gaps in review records.
Inspectors visited on 9 and 11 January 2018 without warning. They spoke with people, relatives, staff, managers and health professionals. They observed care and checked care plans, staff files, training records and audits.
The home supported up to nine people with learning disabilities. Inspectors found enough trained staff, safe medicine support, suitable risk plans and good safeguarding knowledge. People were treated kindly, offered choices and supported to develop independence and take part in activities.
Care records were generally detailed and health needs were managed well. However, some key worker meetings and independence session reviews had not happened as often as planned. One person's health action plan was missing and their hospital passport had not been reviewed since January 2015.
The overall rating was Good in all five areas: Safe, Effective, Caring, Responsive and Well-led. This was lower than the previous Outstanding rating. The report also said the home's quality checks had not always found gaps in recording.
Safe staffing and medicines
Inspectors found enough staff to meet people's needs. Medicines were given with consent, checked correctly and recorded on medicine administration charts.
“We observed staff supporting a person to take their medicines and they did this well, asking the person for their consent” from the report
Kind relationships
The home had a homely atmosphere. Staff knew people well and treated them respectfully and in a friendly way.
“There was a homely atmosphere at the service and it was clear from our observations that support workers had built up close relationships with people using the service.” from the report
Detailed care planning
Care records covered communication, behaviour, daily support, incidents and personal goals. Positive behaviour support plans helped staff respond consistently.
“Care records were comprehensive in scope and were based around people's individual needs.” from the report
Training and induction
New staff received a thorough induction, including shadowing and information about people's needs. Existing staff had a range of relevant training and reflective practice meetings.
“Staff recruitment was a robust and new support workers received a thorough induction which helped them to integrate well into the service.” from the report
Activities and independence
People had individual activity plans and were supported with daily living skills and personal goals. Inspectors saw evidence of improvements in people's independence and quality of life.
“People had long and short term targets and session plans which were used to promote people's independence and daily living skills.” from the report
Key worker reviews were irregular
needs fixingSome key worker meetings were not taking place every three months as planned. One review had a long gap before it took place.
“However, we saw that on occasion the key worker meetings were not taking place with that regularity.” from the report
Some independence plans were not reviewed
needs fixingSome session plans had not been updated. In one care plan, the last recorded review was in January 2015.
“Some of these were not reviewed, in one care plan these were last completed in January 2015.” from the report
One health record was out of date
needs fixingOne person did not have a shared care plan or health action plan, and their hospital passport had not been reviewed for several years.
“the person did not have a shared care plan or a health action plan in place.” from the report
Audits missed recording gaps
needs fixingThe home's quality checks were active, but they did not always identify the missing or overdue reviews found by inspectors.
“However, they did not always identify some deficiencies in recording, for example the gaps we found in the frequency of keyworker reviews and session reviews.” from the report
- 01How often are key worker meetings now held, and how do you check that none are missed?
- 02Have all session plans for independence skills been reviewed and brought up to date?
- 03Does every person have a current shared care plan or health action plan where needed?
- 04When was each person's hospital passport last reviewed?
- 05How do your audits now identify gaps in care planning and review records?
This was an unannounced comprehensive inspection covering the premises and care provided, with all five CQC questions assessed. This explanation was written from the published report of 10 August 2018 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 185 Arabella Drive
3 rated inspections over 8 years: the service has slipped, from Outstanding to Good.
- August 2023Goodcurrent ratingstayed GoodSafe: GoodEffective: GoodCaring: GoodResponsive: GoodWell-led: Good
- August 2018Gooddown from OutstandingSafe: GoodWell-led: Good
- December 2015OutstandingSafe: GoodEffective: GoodCaring: GoodResponsive: OutstandingWell-led: Outstanding
- November 2013
Report published without a new overall rating.
- November 2012
Report published without a new overall rating.
- April 2011
Report published without a new overall rating.
- January 2011
Registered with the Care Quality Commission on 31 January 2011.
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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