CQC report explained · a residential care home
What the CQC found at Shrublands
Rated Good: inspectors found the home performing well and meeting their expectations.
- Safe?
- Good
- People were protected from abuse and avoidable harm. Risks, staffing, medicines, recruitment and infection control were managed safely.
- Effective?
- Good
- This key question was not rated during this inspection.
- Caring?
- Good
- This key question was not rated during this inspection.
- Responsive?
- Good
- This key question was not rated during this inspection.
- Well-led?
- Good
- The home had clear leadership, effective audits and a supportive staff team. Feedback from people, relatives and staff about management was positive.
What inspectors found, November 2023
Shrublands rated Good; inspectors found safe care, well-managed medicines and effective leadership.
This was an unannounced inspection on 18 October 2023. One inspector and an expert by experience visited the home. They spoke with five people and three staff, observed care, checked four care records and four medicines records, and reviewed management records and feedback from relatives.
The home was rated Good overall. Safe and Well-led were both rated Good. Inspectors found enough staff, well-managed risks, safe medicines procedures and suitable infection control measures. Staff knew people well and responded to requests for help in good time.
The home was described as consistently managed and well-led. Audits covered care records, medicines and health and safety. The report says the previous overall rating was also Good, published on 13 December 2017.
Safe care
Staff understood safeguarding, knew people's risks and followed risk management plans. People said they felt safe.
“People living at Shrublands received safe care from skilled and knowledgeable staff.” from the report
Staffing
Planned staffing levels were consistently maintained. Inspectors saw staff respond to call bells and requests for assistance in a timely way.
“During the inspection we observed staff did not look rushed and responded to call bells and requests for assistance, in a timely manner.” from the report
Medicines
People received medicines as prescribed. Staff were trained and their competence was checked regularly, with accurate electronic recording.
“Medicines were managed safely, and people received their medicines as prescribed.” from the report
Quality checks
The management team used audits covering care, medicines and health and safety. A new electronic care planning system had also been introduced.
“Audits included all aspects of care including health and safety checks, safe management of medicines and people's care records.” from the report
Inspectors raised no specific concerns in this report.
- 01How do you check that the new electronic care planning and medicines system remains accurate and up to date?
- 02How do you maintain staffing levels when someone is off sick or when people's needs change?
- 03How are relatives involved in care reviews and how are their comments acted on?
- 04What infection control arrangements are used for visitors and during an outbreak?
- 05How do you review accidents, incidents and near misses, and share any lessons with staff?
This inspection rated Safe and Well-led; the report does not give current ratings for Effective, Caring or Responsive. This explanation was written from the published report of 16 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.
What inspectors found, December 2017
Shrublands was rated Good; inspectors found safe, kind and personalised care, with improved medicines guidance.
The CQC made an unannounced inspection visit on 16 November 2017. One inspector spoke with people, relatives, staff, the manager, the provider and a visiting GP. They looked at care plans, staff records, medicines records and other service records, and observed care.
All five areas were rated Good: Safe, Effective, Caring, Responsive and Well-led. Inspectors found enough staff, safe medicines practice, suitable training, good links with health professionals and care that respected people's choices, dignity and individual needs.
The home had been rated Good at the previous inspection and remained Good overall. The report says improvements had been made to guidance for medicines taken only when needed, although nobody was prescribed this type of medicine at the time of the visit.
Enough staff
Inspectors found that staffing levels met people's needs and that staff were not rushed. People received prompt support and staff had time to sit and talk with them.
“There were sufficient staff on duty to meet people's needs. Staff were not rushed in their duties and had time to sit and chat with people.” from the report
Kind and respectful care
People were supported with warmth and compassion. Staff respected privacy, dignity, preferred names and individual abilities.
“Throughout our visit we saw many caring and compassionate interactions between people and staff.” from the report
Personalised support
Care records included people's histories, preferences and communication needs. Staff respected individual wishes, including preferences about who provided care.
“Care records contained details of people's personal histories, likes, dislikes and preferences and included people's preferred names, interests, hobbies and religious needs.” from the report
Active oversight
The manager used audits, staff meetings, surveys and a new computer system to monitor care and look for improvements.
“The registered manager monitored the quality of service.” from the report
PRN medicines were not tested
minorThe report says guidance for medicines taken only when needed had improved. However, nobody was prescribed this type of medicine during the inspection, so inspectors could not observe how the process worked in practice.
“However, at the time of this inspection no one had been prescribed PRN medicine.” from the report
- 01How many staff are usually on duty for the number of people living here, and how do you cover sickness or holidays?
- 02How would you manage medicines taken only when needed, including recording when they are given and checking whether they worked?
- 03How do you find out which activities each person enjoys, and how often are activities and trips offered?
- 04How are changes in a person's health or dementia needs identified and shared with their GP and family?
- 05How do you review care plans, medicines records and complaints, and what improvements have you made since this 2017 inspection?
This was an unannounced inspection covering all five CQC questions; the home remained Good overall and had also been rated Good at the previous inspection. This explanation was written from the published report of 13 December 2017 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 Shrublands
3 rated inspections over 8 years: the service has held its Good rating throughout.
- November 2023Goodcurrent ratingstayed GoodSafe: GoodEffective: GoodCaring: GoodResponsive: GoodWell-led: Good
- December 2017Goodstayed GoodSafe: GoodWell-led: Good
- November 2015GoodSafe: Requires improvementEffective: GoodCaring: GoodResponsive: GoodWell-led: Good
- August 2013
Report published without a new overall rating.
- April 2013
Report published without a new overall rating.
- 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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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 £1,300 a week. 32 can care for a couple. 12 years' experience on average.
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