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CQC report explained · a nursing home

What the CQC found at Ottley House

Goodpublished 1 April 2025, 18 months ago

Rated Good: inspectors found the home performing well and meeting their expectations.

The latest report, explained

What inspectors found, November 2023

Ottley House was rated Good overall; inspectors found kind, safe and person-centred care, with a fire-door problem dealt with during the visit.

This was an unannounced inspection on 10 October 2023. Inspectors spoke with people, relatives and staff, observed care, and checked care plans, medicine records, recruitment files and health and safety records.

All five areas were rated Good: Safe, Effective, Caring, Responsive and Well-led. Inspectors found that people’s health needs were monitored, medicines were managed safely, staffing was sufficient and people were treated with kindness and dignity.

The home had a positive culture and strong systems for checking care and learning from incidents. Inspectors did find an issue with some fire doors closing when the fire alarm sounded, but the manager acted immediately and produced an action plan.

What inspectors praised
  • Person-centred care

    Care was tailored to people’s needs and preferences. People and relatives were encouraged to help shape care plans.

    “People received person centred care and their health needs were assessed and well monitored.” from the report
  • Kind and respectful support

    Inspectors saw staff respond kindly when someone became distressed. People said their privacy, dignity and independence were respected.

    “People were treated with kindness and their dignity respected.” from the report
  • Good health support

    Health needs were monitored, tests were completed when needed and staff worked with specialist health professionals.

    “The staff team worked with external health professionals such as the diabetic nurses and community psychiatric nurses to ensure people could continue to access specialist health support.” from the report
  • Learning culture

    The home reviewed accidents and episodes of care, updated care plans and shared learning with staff.

    “The provider had created an exceptional learning culture at the service which continuously improved the care people received.” from the report
What inspectors were concerned about
  • Fire doors

    needs fixing

    When the fire alarm sounded, inspectors found that some fire doors did not close properly. The manager acted immediately, arranged an assessment and produced an action plan.

    “During the inspection the fire alarm sounded, and we observed an issue with the closing of some of the fire doors.” from the report
Questions to ask them, based on this report
  1. 01Has the action plan for the fire doors been completed, and how are the doors checked now?
  2. 02How will staff make sure care plans continue to reflect each person’s changing health needs?
  3. 03How are relatives involved in six-monthly care plan reviews?
  4. 04What activities are currently available for someone’s individual interests and relationships?
  5. 05How can a resident or relative raise a concern, and how will the response be recorded?

This was an unannounced inspection covering all five key questions, and both the care provided and the premises were looked at. This explanation was written from the published report of 28 November 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.

An earlier report, explained

What inspectors found, April 2021

Inspected but not rated; inspectors found good infection prevention and control arrangements during the Covid-19 pandemic.

This was an announced, targeted inspection on 30 March 2021. It focused only on infection prevention and control in the home, as part of the CQC's response to the coronavirus pandemic.

Inspectors found clear safety steps for visitors, including hand sanitising, face masks, rapid Covid-19 testing and temperature checks. A visiting pod, changed furniture layouts and an extra staff room helped people and staff maintain social distance.

Inspectors were assured that the home used protective equipment safely, provided testing, managed admissions and outbreaks, and kept its infection control policy up to date. The service was inspected but not rated, so this report does not give an overall quality rating.

What inspectors praised
  • Visitor safety

    Visitors followed clear infection control steps, including testing and temperature checks, before entering.

    “On arrival at the home there were clear instructions for all visitors to follow.” from the report
  • Safer family visits

    The home used a visiting pod to help people stay in contact with important people while reducing cross-infection risk.

    “Use of the area meant visits took place safely which reduced the risk of cross infection.” from the report
  • Protective equipment

    Staff used personal protective equipment properly and could access extra supplies.

    “Staff used personal protection equipment appropriately and had access to additional supplies if needed.” from the report
  • Infection control monitoring

    The home monitored whether staff followed its infection control policy.

    “The registered manager and infection prevention lead monitored staff compliance with the provider's infection control policy.” from the report
What inspectors were concerned about

Inspectors raised no specific concerns in this report.

Questions to ask them, based on this report
  1. 01How are visitors currently tested and supported to follow infection prevention measures?
  2. 02Is the visiting pod still available, and how can relatives arrange visits?
  3. 03How do you monitor staff compliance with the infection prevention and control policy?
  4. 04How do you manage new admissions and any infection outbreaks?
  5. 05What were the home's most recent ratings for caring, effectiveness, responsiveness and leadership, since this inspection did not assess them?

This was a targeted inspection of infection prevention and control only; the service was inspected but not rated and the other areas of care were not assessed. This explanation was written from the published report of 17 April 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.

The story over the years

Every inspection of Ottley House

5 rated inspections over 9 years: the service has improved, from Inadequate to Good.

  1. November 2023Goodcurrent rating
    Safe: GoodEffective: GoodCaring: GoodResponsive: GoodWell-led: Good

    Read what inspectors found at Ottley House →

  2. April 2021Inspected but not rated
    Safe: Inspected but not rated

    Read what inspectors found at Ottley House →

  3. March 2018Goodstayed Good
    Safe: GoodEffective: Requires improvementCaring: GoodResponsive: GoodWell-led: Good

    Read this report on cqc.org.uk

  4. August 2016Goodup from Requires improvement
    Safe: GoodEffective: GoodCaring: GoodResponsive: GoodWell-led: Good

    Read this report on cqc.org.uk

  5. July 2015Requires improvementup from Inadequate
    Safe: Requires improvementEffective: GoodCaring: GoodResponsive: GoodWell-led: Requires improvement

    Read this report on cqc.org.uk

  6. December 2014Inadequate
    Safe: InadequateEffective: InadequateCaring: Requires improvementResponsive: InadequateWell-led: Inadequate

    Read this report on cqc.org.uk

  7. August 2013

    Report published without a new overall rating.

    Read this report on cqc.org.uk

  8. December 2012

    Report published without a new overall rating.

    Read this report on cqc.org.uk

  9. July 2011

    Report published without a new overall rating.

    Read this report on cqc.org.uk

  10. February 2011

    Registered with the Care Quality Commission on 15 February 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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