CQC report explained · a residential care home
What the CQC found at Ganarew House Care Home
Rated Good: inspectors found the home performing well and meeting their expectations.
What inspectors found, January 2021
Ganarew House Care Home was rated Good; inspectors found safe, caring support and stronger management after concerns about medicines, training and infection control.
This was an unannounced focused inspection on 16 December 2020. Inspectors looked only at Safe and Well-led because concerns had been raised about medicines, staff training and infection prevention. They spoke with staff, relatives and a health professional, observed care, and checked care, medicines, recruitment and management records.
The home was rated Good for Safe and Well-led. Inspectors found trained staff, suitable staffing levels, safe recruitment and systems for assessing risks. Medicines were given as prescribed, infection control arrangements were in place, and accidents and incidents were reviewed.
Relatives spoke positively about the care and the management team. Inspectors found that communication had improved and that audits were used to identify and address shortfalls. The overall rating remained Good, but the other three key questions were not inspected during this visit and their previous ratings were carried forward.
Staff knew people well
Staff were trained and understood how to keep people safe. Inspectors saw staff spending individual time with people and helping them safely with activities and meals.
“People were cared for by trained staff that knew them well and how to keep them safe from avoidable harm.” from the report
Safe medicines systems
Staff who gave medicines were trained and had their competence checked. Records showed medicines were given as prescribed and audits were carried out.
“Records demonstrated people received their medications as per their individual prescription and checks were in place to ensure any issues were identified and acted upon.” from the report
Good infection control
Inspectors were assured that the home had arrangements covering visitors, protective equipment, testing, distancing, hygiene and managing outbreaks.
“We were assured that the provider was making sure infection outbreaks can be effectively prevented or managed.” from the report
Open management
Relatives said management was open and approachable. Staff said their views were now listened to and that communication had improved.
“Relatives told us they were informed of any accidents and incidents and said they had good, open and honest relationships with management.” from the report
Learning from incidents
Accidents and incidents were recorded and reviewed. Lessons were shared with staff and care plans were updated when needed.
“Any lessons learnt were shared with staff and people's care files were updated when needed.” from the report
Inspectors raised no specific concerns in this report.
- 01What is the current registration status of the manager who had applied to register with the CQC?
- 02How often are staff training and medicine-giving competence checked now?
- 03What do the latest medicine audits show, and have any issues been found since the inspection?
- 04How are infection prevention arrangements being maintained, including protective equipment, testing and outbreak planning?
- 05Can you give an example of a recent accident or incident and explain what changed afterwards?
This was a focused inspection of Safe and Well-led only; the other key questions were not inspected and their previous ratings were carried forward. This explanation was written from the published report of 12 January 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, May 2019
Ganarew House Care Home was rated Good; inspectors found kind, personalised care, with some staff communication and complaint-recording issues.
This was an unannounced inspection over 11 and 12 April 2019. One inspector spoke with people living at the home, relatives, staff and health professionals. They observed care and checked care plans, medicines, staffing, training, complaints and quality records.
The home was rated Good in all five areas: Safe, Effective, Caring, Responsive and Well-led. Inspectors found people were protected from avoidable harm, received their medicines safely, and had enough staff during the inspection. Care was described as kind, respectful and tailored to people's needs.
Inspectors found improvements since earlier inspections. Mental capacity records, caring practice and the recording and review of incidents had improved. However, some staff said staffing concerns were not always resolved, staff did not always feel listened to, and verbal complaints were not always recorded.
Safe medicines and risk management
Inspectors found that medicines were administered, stored and monitored safely. Risks were assessed and reviewed, and accidents and incidents were checked for learning.
“Staff administered medicines in a safe way, following appropriate guidance, and using an effective system to ensure people had their medicines as prescribed.” from the report
Kind and respectful care
Staff were seen providing patient, compassionate support. People were offered choices and their privacy and dignity were respected.
“We saw staff offer emotional support when needed which improved people's well-being.” from the report
Personalised support and activities
Care records included people's histories, preferences and health needs. People could join activities, entertainment and trips, including dementia-focused arts and crafts.
“People's care records provided information about their life history, cultural and spiritual needs and activities they enjoyed.” from the report
Quality monitoring
The management team carried out monthly quality checks and recorded actions to improve the home. People and relatives were also invited to give feedback through meetings and surveys.
“The management team completed a full range of quality audits on a monthly basis and we saw that actions were identified and addressed to bring about improvements.” from the report
Staffing concerns were not always resolved
needs fixingAlthough inspectors found enough staff during the visit, some staff said staffing levels were sometimes insufficient. They said concerns raised with management were not consistently resolved at the time.
“Staff we spoke said sometimes staffing levels were insufficient, they had raised this with the management team and the concerns were not consistently resolved at the time of inspection.” from the report
Staff did not always feel listened to
minorManagement was working to improve relationships with staff. Inspectors found that some staff still did not consistently feel listened to or valued.
“However staff we spoke with did not consistently feel listened to which impacted on their feelings of being valued by the management team.” from the report
Verbal complaints were not always recorded
needs fixingFormal complaints were investigated under the complaints policy, but verbal complaints were sometimes resolved without being recorded. This meant the home could not be certain that all complaints had been reviewed.
“We found that although verbal complaints were resolved they were not always recorded.” from the report
- 01How do you check that staffing levels remain sufficient when staff are off sick or on annual leave?
- 02What has changed to make sure staff feel listened to and their concerns are acted on?
- 03How do you record and review verbal complaints, as well as formal complaints?
- 04How are care plans updated when a person's needs, preferences or communication change?
- 05What activities and support are currently available for people living with dementia?
This was a planned, unannounced inspection of the overall service and all five CQC questions, including the premises, care, staffing, records and management systems; it followed earlier inspections where improvements had been required. This explanation was written from the published report of 2 May 2019 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 Ganarew House Care Home
7 rated inspections over 6 years: the service has held its Good rating throughout.
- January 2021Goodcurrent ratingstayed GoodSafe: GoodEffective: GoodCaring: GoodResponsive: GoodWell-led: Good
- May 2019Goodup from Requires improvementSafe: GoodWell-led: Good
- May 2018Requires improvementstayed Requires improvementSafe: GoodWell-led: Good
- May 2018Requires improvementstayed Requires improvementSafe: Requires improvementEffective: Requires improvementCaring: Requires improvementResponsive: Requires improvementWell-led: Requires improvement
- May 2017Requires improvementstayed Requires improvementEffective: Requires improvementWell-led: Requires improvement
- January 2017Requires improvementdown from GoodSafe: GoodEffective: Requires improvementCaring: GoodResponsive: GoodWell-led: Requires improvement
- May 2015GoodSafe: GoodEffective: Requires improvementCaring: GoodResponsive: GoodWell-led: Good
- May 2013
Report published without a new overall rating.
- September 2012
Report published without a new overall rating.
- October 2011
Report published without a new overall rating.
- January 2011
Registered with the Care Quality Commission on 17 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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