CQC report explained · a residential care home
What the CQC found at Meadowyrthe
Rated Good: inspectors found the home performing well and meeting their expectations.
What inspectors found, November 2022
Rated Requires Improvement; inspectors found kind and responsive care, but serious medicines and management checks were not reliable.
Inspectors visited on 13 October 2022. They spoke with people, relatives, staff and managers, and checked care records, medicines records, complaints, safety records, quality checks and recruitment files.
The home was caring and responsive. People were treated with dignity, involved in choices, supported with activities and helped to maintain relationships. Staff understood people's needs, supported their health and provided enough food and drink.
There were important weaknesses. Medicines records did not match the medicines held, including controlled drugs. Checks by managers and the provider did not reliably find these problems. Staff and managers also did not always follow the law and guidance about people's mental capacity and restrictions.
The overall rating was Requires Improvement. Safe, Effective and Well-led were also Requires Improvement. Caring and Responsive were rated Good. The previous rating under the former provider was Requires Improvement, published on 4 December 2019.
Kind, respectful care
People and relatives spoke positively about the care. Inspectors saw staff offering choices, protecting privacy and encouraging people to remain independent.
“People were supported by caring staff who knew them well. Staff treated people with respect and acted to ensure their dignity and privacy.” from the report
Enough staff
Inspectors found enough staff to provide planned and responsive care. Recruitment checks had been completed.
“People were support by enough staff who were able to provide both planned and responsive care.” from the report
Personalised support
Care plans included people's histories, relationships, interests, communication needs and preferences. Staff adapted support when people's needs changed.
“Care plans reflected people's life histories, important relationships and interests and hobbies.” from the report
Activities and relationships
People were offered group and one-to-one activities suited to their needs. Visitors were welcomed and people were supported to maintain important relationships.
“Activities were adapted according to people's needs and throughout the day we saw people were offered both group, and one to one activities to support their well-being.” from the report
Learning from incidents
The home had processes for learning after accidents and incidents. Staff said learning was shared and training was offered when needed.
“There was evidence of learning after incidents and events took place.” from the report
Medicines records
seriousMedicines stock records did not always match what was held at the home. The management team could not account for missing medicines, and controlled drug records did not agree.
“The management team were unable to account for missing medicines on the day of inspection.” from the report
Weak management checks
seriousAudits were missing information or had not identified the medicines discrepancies. The provider's oversight also failed to identify problems with legal restrictions.
“The provider had failed to establish systems to effectively assess, monitor and improve the quality and safety of the service.” from the report
Mental capacity and restrictions
needs fixingStaff understanding of the Mental Capacity Act and Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards varied. The manager said applications were made for everyone moving in permanently, without fully considering each person's capacity.
“The management team had not fully considered people's individual needs in relation to assessing their capacity to receive care at the home.” from the report
No registered manager at inspection
needs fixingThere was no registered manager in post during the visit. A new manager had been in post for just over a month and had applied to register.
“At the time of our inspection there was not a registered manager in post.” from the report
- 01What checks are now made to ensure medicines stock records match the medicines held, including controlled drugs?
- 02How are missing or discrepant medicines identified, investigated and reported?
- 03How do you assess each person's mental capacity before applying for a Deprivation of Liberty Safeguard?
- 04Who now checks that audits are complete, accurate and followed up when they find a problem?
- 05Has the manager's application to register been completed, and who is responsible for oversight while it is being assessed?
This was an inspection of the care home covering all five key questions, including infection prevention and control; the report describes it as the first inspection of this newly registered service. This explanation was written from the published report of 23 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.
Every inspection of Meadowyrthe
4 rated inspections over 7 years: the service has held its Requires improvement rating throughout.
- November 2022Requires improvementcurrent ratingstayed Requires improvementSafe: Requires improvementEffective: Requires improvementCaring: GoodResponsive: GoodWell-led: Requires improvement
- December 2019Requires improvementdown from GoodSafe: Requires improvementEffective: Requires improvementCaring: Requires improvementResponsive: Requires improvementWell-led: Inadequate
- April 2017Goodup from Requires improvementSafe: GoodEffective: GoodCaring: GoodResponsive: Requires improvementWell-led: Good
- April 2016Requires improvementSafe: Requires improvementEffective: Requires improvementCaring: Requires improvementResponsive: GoodWell-led: Requires improvement
- July 2021
Registered with the Care Quality Commission on 8 July 2021.
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.
Weigh the report against the rest
Fees, photos and reviews from families
How to read CQC ratings and reports
What to check when you visit
At least 100 live-in carers within about an hour of Staffordshire
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 £980 to £1,230 a week. 85 can care for a couple. 10 years' experience on average.
“We particularly appreciate the companionship Dawn gives in the evenings when she plays cards and Scrabble with my mother.”
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.