CQC report explained · a residential care home
What the CQC found at Grove Hill Care Home
Rated Good: inspectors found the home performing well and meeting their expectations.
What inspectors found, September 2022
Grove Hill Care Home was rated Good overall; inspectors found clear improvements in care planning, staff support and oversight.
This was an unannounced focused inspection on 08 September 2022. Inspectors checked whether improvements had been made in the Effective and Well-led areas after earlier concerns.
They found that people's needs were assessed and reviewed, care plans were up to date, and records showed the care people needed. Staff had suitable training and supervision, and people were supported with food, drink and healthcare.
The home had introduced better checks on incidents, medicines, health and safety, weights and care records. The previous breach of Regulation 17 had been resolved, and the ratings for Effective and Well-led improved to Good.
The overall Good rating also used ratings from the previous inspection for Safe, Caring and Responsive. These three areas were not inspected during this visit.
Improvement since the last inspection
The provider had acted on the earlier concerns. The home was no longer in breach of the governance regulation.
“At this inspection we found significant improvements had been made and the provider was no longer in breach of Regulation 17.” from the report
Care planning
Care plans were accurate and reflected people's current needs, including communication and oral care needs. Relatives and people were involved in reviews where appropriate.
“People's needs had clearly been identified and care plans consistently reflected these needs.” from the report
Choice and rights
Staff respected people's decisions and worked within the Mental Capacity Act. Inspectors found that people's freedom and movement were unrestricted.
“People's right to make their own decisions was respected, staff were aware of and worked within the MCA.” from the report
Management checks
The home used checks and audits to identify problems and make changes, including improving how people's weights were monitored.
“The registered manager had introduced a range of checks to monitor the quality and safety of the service and to help drive improvements.” from the report
Staff support
New staff received an induction, and staff had ongoing training and supervision. Staff told inspectors they felt supported.
“People were supported by staff who received supervision so they could talk through any issues and look at professional development.” from the report
Inspectors raised no specific concerns in this report.
- 01What are the current ratings and most recent findings for Safe, Caring and Responsive, which were not reassessed during this inspection?
- 02How do you check that care plans remain accurate and reflect changes in a person's needs?
- 03How do you monitor medicines, incidents, accidents and health and safety, and what happens when a check identifies a problem?
- 04How do you support people living with dementia to make their own decisions and keep their freedom and movement unrestricted?
- 05How are people's dietary needs, preferences, weights and healthcare referrals monitored?
This was a focused inspection of Effective and Well-led only; Safe, Caring and Responsive were not inspected and their ratings carried over from the previous inspection. This explanation was written from the published report of 28 September 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, November 2021
Grove Hill Care Home was rated Requires Improvement; inspectors found kind and safe care but weaknesses in care planning, restrictions and record keeping.
The inspection was unannounced and took place on 19 and 20 May 2021. Inspectors spoke with people, relatives, staff and healthcare professionals. They reviewed medicines, care plans, staff files, policies and quality records.
People were generally safe, treated kindly and supported by enough suitably recruited staff. Medicines and infection control were managed safely. Relatives and people gave positive feedback about the care and staff.
The inspectors found that care assessments and plans were not always complete or accurate. Records did not always show that required checks and care had taken place. Some tables restricted people's movement, although these were removed when the issue was raised.
The overall rating was Requires Improvement. Safe, Caring and Responsive were rated Good. Effective and Well-led were rated Requires Improvement. The provider was in breach of Regulation 17 about good governance.
Kind and respectful care
Inspectors observed caring interactions. People and relatives spoke positively about staff's patience, kindness and respect.
“People were treated with kindness and were positive about the staff's caring attitude.” from the report
Safe medicines
People received medicines as prescribed. Records were accurate, and staff had medicine training and competency checks.
“People's medicines were safely managed and they received their medicine as prescribed.” from the report
Enough trained staff
The home had enough staff to meet people's needs and followed safe recruitment processes. Staff received induction, training and supervision.
“There was sufficient staff to meet people's needs. No agency staff had been deployed in the home.” from the report
Good knowledge of people
Staff understood people's needs and preferences. The home had started using personal history information to help staff communicate with people living with dementia.
“It was clear staff knew people very well, had a good understanding of their individual needs and made sure those needs were met.” from the report
Incomplete care information
needs fixingSome important information from assessments was missing from care plans. This could mean staff did not have all the information needed to monitor a person's health.
“Information from the assessment was not always transferred into the care plan.” from the report
Restrictions on movement
needs fixingTables placed in front of people in a communal area could restrict their freedom and movement. The manager did not recognise this at first, but removed the tables immediately.
“However, we observed people seated in the communal area had tables placed in front of them.” from the report
Dementia environment
minorSome bedrooms were not personalised, and the communal area was dark with no natural daylight. Inspectors noted that additional lighting had been ordered.
“The communal space had no natural daylight and was quite dark.” from the report
Weak record and audit systems
seriousRecords were sometimes unclear, incomplete or not up to date. Audits did not reliably check that staff had completed required checks, and some safeguarding incidents had no matching incident record.
“These concerns were a breach of Regulation 17 (Good Governance) of the Health and Social Care Act (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014.” from the report
- 01How have you made sure every person's assessment information is transferred accurately into their care plan?
- 02How do you record regular checks, drinks offered and other care described in people's care plans?
- 03What safeguards are now in place to make sure any restriction on movement is necessary, lawful and in the person's best interests?
- 04What action has been taken to improve the lighting and personalisation of bedrooms for people living with dementia?
- 05How do your audits now identify missing, unclear or incomplete care, safeguarding and incident records?
This was an unannounced inspection covering all five key questions; it was prompted partly by a serious injury incident, but the inspection did not examine the circumstances of that incident. This explanation was written from the published report of 4 November 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 Grove Hill Care Home
5 rated inspections over 7 years: the service has improved, from Requires improvement to Good.
- September 2022Goodcurrent ratingup from Requires improvementSafe: GoodEffective: GoodCaring: GoodResponsive: GoodWell-led: Good
- November 2021Requires improvementEffective: Requires improvementWell-led: Requires improvement
- October 2020Inspected but not ratedSafe: Inspected but not rated
- September 2019Goodstayed GoodSafe: GoodEffective: GoodCaring: GoodResponsive: GoodWell-led: Good
- February 2017Goodup from Requires improvementSafe: GoodEffective: GoodCaring: GoodResponsive: GoodWell-led: Good
- February 2016Requires improvementSafe: Requires improvementEffective: Requires improvementCaring: GoodResponsive: Requires improvementWell-led: Requires improvement
- December 2019
Registered with the Care Quality Commission on 2 December 2019.
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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44 live-in carers within about an hour of Swindon
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 £990 to £1,280 a week. 34 can care for a couple. 12 years' experience on average.
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