CQC report explained · a residential care home
What the CQC found at Inspirations
Rated Good: inspectors found the home performing well and meeting their expectations.
- Safe?
- Good
- Inspectors found people were protected from abuse and avoidable harm. Medicines, staffing, risk management, infection control and learning from incidents were all described positively.
- Effective?
- Good
- This key question was not inspected during this focused visit. Its previous rating was used when calculating the overall rating.
- Caring?
- Good
- This key question was not inspected during this focused visit. Its previous rating was used when calculating the overall rating.
- Responsive?
- Good
- This key question was not inspected during this focused visit. Its previous rating was used when calculating the overall rating.
- Well-led?
- Good
- Inspectors found stronger quality checks, regular audits and monitoring of care plans and risks. People, relatives and staff could share their views, and the manager worked with other agencies.
What inspectors found, February 2023
Rated Good; inspectors found safe, person-centred care and improved management after the previous Requires Improvement rating.
This was an unannounced focused inspection on 01 February 2023. One inspector and an Expert by Experience spoke with people, relatives and staff. They observed care and checked care records, medicines, staff recruitment files and management records.
The home was rated Good for Safe and Well-led. Inspectors found people were protected from abuse, risks were assessed, medicines were given as prescribed, staffing was sufficient and infection control arrangements were effective.
The previous inspection in 2019 rated the home Requires Improvement and found breaches of regulations. This inspection found that improvements had been made and there were no longer any breaches.
This was a focused inspection of Safe and Well-led only. The ratings for the other areas were carried forward from the previous inspection when calculating the overall Good rating.
Medicines
People received their medicines as prescribed. Staff had guidance, training and regular competency checks.
“Medicines were administered as prescribed. Staff had guidance on how to administer people's medicines and had training and their competency assessed on a regular basis.” from the report
Staffing and safety
Inspectors found enough staff to meet people's needs. Recruitment checks were completed to help ensure staff were suitable and safe to work with vulnerable people.
“People were supported by suitably skilled and safely recruited staff.” from the report
Management checks
The home had improved its monitoring systems since the previous inspection. It used regular audits of medicines, infection control, care plans and risks.
“The provider had a range of audits in place to monitor aspects of the care people received and check on the environment of the home.” from the report
Family involvement
Relatives could share their views and were kept informed about activities, staffing changes and actions arising from meetings.
“They send texts and emails as to the activities schedules, changes to staff and other things. They do everything they can to try to keep families involved.” from the report
Inspectors raised no specific concerns in this report.
- 01How are weekly medicines audits checked, and what happens if an error or missing record is found?
- 02How often are care plans and risk assessments reviewed, and how quickly are they changed when someone's needs change?
- 03How will you keep families informed about activities, staffing changes and actions from meetings?
- 04What progress has been made in investigating electronic systems for care planning?
- 05How do you check that falls prevention measures and other safety plans remain effective?
This was a focused inspection of Safe and Well-led only; the ratings for Effective, Caring and Responsive were carried forward from the previous inspection. This explanation was written from the published report of 24 February 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, May 2019
Rated Requires Improvement; inspectors found kind, personalised care, but medicines systems were not reliable and leadership did not always follow up concerns.
This was an unannounced inspection on 15 March 2019. The inspectors reviewed records, medicines, staffing and how the home was managed. They spoke with people, relatives and staff, and observed care, including for people living with advancing dementia.
The home was rated Good for Effective, Caring and Responsive. People were supported by trained staff, treated with kindness and dignity, and offered personalised care, activities and access to healthcare.
The home was rated Requires Improvement for Safe and Well-led. Inspectors found missed or poorly recorded medicines, including an anticoagulant and a topical cream. The provider had identified some of these issues before the inspection but had not resolved them fully.
The overall rating changed from Good at the previous inspection to Requires Improvement. The provider took immediate action after the inspection and was asked to send CQC an action plan.
Kind and respectful care
People were treated with kindness and respect. Staff understood people's emotional needs and promoted their dignity and independence.
“We saw positive, caring interactions during the inspection between care staff and people living at the service.” from the report
Skilled staff
Staff had suitable knowledge and training, and their competence was checked. Inspectors saw this learning being used in people's care.
“Care staff we spoke with had a good level of knowledge and this was applied effectively in the care and support provided to people.” from the report
Personalised support
Care plans considered people's physical and emotional needs. Staff knew people's preferences and life histories and used this to shape support.
“We saw detailed care plans were in place and care staff understood these and people's individual needs well.” from the report
Activities and choice
People had a range of activities and could choose different areas of the home. Their dietary choices and support needs were also met.
“There are lots of things going on. There is always something going on. They have jiggy days and have a bit of a dance” from the report
Enough staff
Inspectors found enough care staff to support people safely. Recruitment checks, including identity, references and DBS checks, were completed.
“There were sufficient numbers of care staff available to support people safely.” from the report
Medicines were not always given correctly
seriousInspectors found missed medicines and records that did not match the available stock. This meant people could not be assured of receiving medicines as prescribed.
“One person had not received their anticoagulant medicine as prescribed and another had not received their topical cream as prescribed.” from the report
Quality checks did not resolve problems
seriousThe provider had identified medicines concerns before the inspection but had not taken enough action to make sure they were fixed. This contributed to the breach of safe care and treatment rules.
“However, we found where some issues had been identified by quality checks, these had not been followed up on sufficiently to ensure people were protected from the risk of harm.” from the report
Some decision records needed improvement
minorInspectors found that the principles of the Mental Capacity Act were being followed, but records of some decisions could have been better.
“Some improvement could be made around the recording of decisions which the registered manager began to act on prior to the end of the inspection.” from the report
- 01What changes have you made to prevent missed medicines, especially anticoagulants and topical creams?
- 02How do you now check that medicine stock matches the medicines administration records?
- 03What did your action plan to CQC say, and which actions have been completed?
- 04How often are medicines audits reviewed, and who checks that identified problems are fully resolved?
- 05How do you record decisions made under the Mental Capacity Act?
This was an unannounced scheduled inspection covering all five CQC questions, with the overall rating and each question rating assessed. This explanation was written from the published report of 9 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 Inspirations
3 rated inspections over 6 years: the service has held its Good rating throughout.
- February 2023Goodcurrent ratingup from Requires improvementSafe: GoodEffective: GoodCaring: GoodResponsive: GoodWell-led: Good
- May 2019Requires improvementdown from GoodSafe: Requires improvementWell-led: Requires improvement
- September 2016GoodSafe: GoodEffective: GoodCaring: GoodResponsive: GoodWell-led: Good
- May 2014
Report published without a new overall rating.
- May 2013
Registered with the Care Quality Commission on 20 May 2013.
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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At least 100 live-in carers within about an hour of Wolverhampton
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 £950 to £1,230 a week. 89 can care for a couple. 9 years' experience on average.
“Knowing Mum was in Corina's care made an enormous difference to us and we knew she was in safe hands.”
Every carer has had an enhanced DBS check in the last 18 months, ID and right-to-work checks and an online interview. Their skills and training are for you to check with them. Carers set their own rates, and who is free changes week to week.