CQC report explained · a residential care home
What the CQC found at Ridgewood Court Residential Care Home
Rated Good: inspectors found the home performing well and meeting their expectations.
- Safe?
- Requires improvement
- Most risks were assessed, but guidance about people's medical and mental health needs needed more detail. Some medicines records and the safeguarding incident log also needed improvement.
- Effective?
- Good
- This question was not inspected at this visit. The report says the previous rating was carried forward.
- Caring?
- Outstanding
- This question was not inspected at this visit. The report says the previous rating was carried forward.
- Responsive?
- Good
- This question was not inspected at this visit. The report says the previous rating was carried forward.
- Well-led?
- Good
- The home was managed consistently, with systems to learn from incidents and gather people's views. The new manager was in the process of registering with CQC.
What inspectors found, February 2021
Rated Good overall, but Safe Requires Improvement because some care guidance, medicines records and safeguarding records were not always complete.
This was a focused inspection on 10 December 2020. Inspectors looked only at Safe and Well-led, partly because concerns had been raised about infection control and staffing. They spoke with five people, staff and managers, and checked care, medicine, recruitment and management records.
Inspectors found enough staff, safe recruitment, a well-maintained home and good infection control arrangements. People said they felt safe and well looked after. However, guidance about some medical and mental health needs was too limited, and records for some prescribed creams and thickening medication were not always clear.
The home was rated Good overall. Well-led remained Good, but Safe fell from Good to Requires Improvement. The overall rating stayed Good because ratings from earlier comprehensive inspections for areas not checked at this visit were carried forward.
People felt safe
People told inspectors they felt safe and well looked after. Staff were described as doing a good job.
“People told us they felt safe and well looked after. They told us staff did a good job.” from the report
Infection control
Inspectors found robust infection control arrangements for COVID-19, enough protective equipment and appropriate staff training.
“There were robust infection prevention control procedures (IPC) including those relating to COVID-19 in place.” from the report
Enough staff and safe recruitment
There were enough staff on duty during the visit, and checks had been completed before staff were employed.
“Checks on the safety and suitability of staff to work with vulnerable people were completed prior to employment.” from the report
Medical and mental health guidance
seriousInformation for staff about some people's medical and mental health needs was not detailed enough. This could make it harder for staff to support people consistently.
“Information on people's medical and mental health needs required greater detail to ensure staff understood how to support people appropriately.” from the report
Medicine records
seriousRecords about prescribed creams and thickening medication were not always clear. Managers said they would address this immediately.
“Some improvements were required with regards to the administration and recording of people's thickening medication and prescribed creams.” from the report
Safeguarding records
needs fixingSafeguarding procedures were followed, but the home needed to keep an accurate log of all safeguarding incidents.
“An accurate log of all safeguarding incidents however needed to be maintained.” from the report
- 01What changes have been made to guidance about residents' medical and mental health needs since this inspection?
- 02How are prescribed creams and thickening medication now recorded and checked?
- 03How do you keep an accurate log of all safeguarding incidents?
- 04Has the new manager completed registration with CQC?
- 05How are infection control, testing and family visits managed now?
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 26 February 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, July 2019
Rated Good overall, with Outstanding caring; inspectors found warm, person-centred care and only minor record-keeping issues.
This was the home’s first inspection. It was unannounced and took place over 30 April and 2 May 2019. Inspectors spoke with people, relatives, staff and visiting health professionals. They also checked care plans, medicines, staff records and quality records.
The home was rated Good overall. It was rated Good for Safe, Effective, Responsive and Well-led. Caring was rated Outstanding. Inspectors saw kind and respectful staff, good choices for people, suitable activities and strong links with families and other professionals.
Inspectors noted some areas for improvement. These included recording the use of medicated creams and recording important details after incidents. Staff numbers had previously been inconsistent, but feedback at the inspection was that recruitment and a new rota had improved this.
Kind and respectful care
Staff treated people with warmth, dignity and respect. They gave people time and encouraged them to lead their own care.
“We saw many examples of staff interacting with people in a kind, caring and positive manner.” from the report
Independence and choice
The home made practical changes to help people do more for themselves and supported personal interests, including swimming and keeping an aviary.
“People's independence, autonomy and dignity was promoted in many ways.” from the report
Personalised activities
People could choose from varied activities and were supported to stay connected with their families, local community and interests.
“There was a weekly changing planner of activities and events both inside and outside the home that people could choose to get involved in” from the report
Open management
The manager and staff were described as open and willing to learn. There were regular meetings, audits and an improvement plan.
“There was a culture of listening and working in partnership with people and their relatives and of focusing on continuous improvement.” from the report
Medicines cream records
minorInspectors discussed improving how the application of medicated creams was recorded. The report does not say that people were harmed.
“We had a discussion with the registered manager regarding improvements that could be made in recording the application of medicated creams.” from the report
Incident records
needs fixingInspectors found that important details were not always recorded consistently after incidents. This could make it harder to assess how well the response worked.
“However, we had a discussion with the registered manager about consistency in the recording of important details; to allow the manager to assess the response to the incident.” from the report
Earlier staffing inconsistency
minorPeople, relatives and staff said staffing levels had previously been inconsistent. The report says recruitment and a new rota had addressed this, with current feedback that staffing was sufficient.
“People, their relatives and staff told us that the levels of staff at the home had been inconsistent” from the report
- 01How do you now record the application of medicated creams, and how do you check that the records are complete?
- 02What details must staff record after a fall, accident or other incident, and how does a manager review the response?
- 03Have staffing levels remained consistent since the new rota and recruitment described in the report?
- 04How are people and their relatives involved in reviewing care plans and choosing activities?
- 05How do you check that people's individual choices, independence and important interests continue to be supported?
This was the home’s first unannounced inspection and covered all five CQC questions, including the accommodation and personal care provided. This explanation was written from the published report of 6 July 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 Ridgewood Court Residential Care Home
2 rated inspections over 2 years: the service has held its Good rating throughout.
- February 2021Goodcurrent ratingstayed GoodSafe: Requires improvementEffective: GoodCaring: OutstandingResponsive: GoodWell-led: Good
Read what inspectors found at Ridgewood Court Residential Care Home →
- July 2019GoodSafe: GoodWell-led: Good
Read what inspectors found at Ridgewood Court Residential Care Home →
- April 2018
Registered with the Care Quality Commission on 9 April 2018.
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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