CQC report explained · a residential care home
What the CQC found at Spring Gardens
Rated Good: inspectors found the home performing well and meeting their expectations.
- Safe?
- Good
- Staffing levels, safeguarding, medicines, infection control and accident reporting were found to be safe. Some care records contained conflicting information about people's current needs.
- Effective?
- Good
- Staff had the skills and training needed, supported people's choices, and helped people access healthcare, food and drink. Old records needed to be removed after care plans were updated.
- Caring?
- Good
- This area was not covered by this focused inspection. Inspectors did observe staff respecting people's privacy, dignity, choices and communication needs.
- Responsive?
- Good
- This area was not covered by this focused inspection. The report says support was planned around people's individual needs, interests and independence.
- Well-led?
- Good
- The home had a registered manager, quality checks and an open culture. However, the checks had not identified the conflicting information in care records, and action was taken after the inspection.
What inspectors found, September 2020
Rated Good; inspectors found safe, kind and person-centred care, but some old care records gave conflicting information.
Inspectors visited on 2 and 3 September 2020. They observed care for five people, spoke with relatives, staff and a health professional, and checked care, medicines, recruitment and management records.
The home was rated Good overall for Safe, Effective and Well-led. Staff knew people well and supported their choices, health needs and independence. Medicines, staffing, safeguarding and infection control were managed safely.
Some care files still contained old information alongside updated records. This could have confused staff about people's needs. The provider acted immediately to review all care files and remove historical information.
This was a focused inspection. It checked whether earlier legal requirements had been met, and the home was no longer in breach. The overall rating improved from Requires Improvement to Good, but the Caring and Responsive areas were not assessed during this visit.
Staff knew people well
Staff could explain people's health needs and support requirements. They were observed providing care in line with people's wishes.
“People were observed to be happy and supported by a staff team who knew them well.” from the report
Safe medicines and infection control
Medicines were given at the right times by trained staff whose competence was checked. The home was clean and had suitable infection control arrangements and protective equipment.
“Medicines were managed safely. Records showed people received their medicines at the correct times and with the correct level of support from trained staff” from the report
Choice and independence
Staff supported people to make daily choices and used the least restrictive approach. Support focused on helping people build skills and become more independent.
“People's support focused on them having as many opportunities as possible for them to gain new skills and become more independent.” from the report
Improvements since the last inspection
The previous concerns about staffing and management systems had been addressed. The home was no longer in breach of the regulations identified at the earlier inspection.
“At this inspection we found improvements had been made and the provider was no longer in breach of regulations.” from the report
Out-of-date care records
needs fixingSome files kept previous assessments after new ones had been added. This meant records could give conflicting instructions about a person's needs, although staff could explain people's current support.
“Care records contained conflicting information regarding people's current needs and level of support.” from the report
Checks missed the record problem
needs fixingThe home's quality monitoring had not identified the conflicting information in care files. The registered manager took immediate action to review all records.
“The issues found during this inspection regarding people's previous care records not being removed from files had not been identified.” from the report
- 01How have you checked that every person's care file now contains only current information?
- 02How do staff know which care plan or risk assessment is the current one?
- 03What staffing levels are in place, and how are they changed when people's needs change?
- 04How will you seek feedback directly from people who live at the home?
- 05What activities and contact with relatives are available when normal routines are disrupted?
This was a focused inspection of Safe, Effective and Well-led only; Caring and Responsive were not assessed and the overall rating also used ratings from the previous comprehensive inspection. This explanation was written from the published report of 26 September 2020 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 Spring Gardens
4 rated inspections over 6 years: the service has improved, from Requires improvement to Good.
- September 2020Goodcurrent ratingup from Requires improvementSafe: GoodEffective: GoodCaring: GoodResponsive: GoodWell-led: Good
- August 2018Requires improvementdown from GoodSafe: Requires improvementEffective: Requires improvementWell-led: Requires improvement
- February 2016Goodup from Requires improvementSafe: GoodEffective: GoodCaring: GoodResponsive: GoodWell-led: Good
- March 2015Requires improvementSafe: Requires improvementEffective: Requires improvementCaring: GoodResponsive: Requires improvementWell-led: Inadequate
- July 2019
Registered with the Care Quality Commission on 25 July 2019.
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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31 live-in carers within about an hour of Redcar and Cleveland
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 £1,280 a week. 29 can care for a couple. 9 years' experience on average.
“I found Alison to be kind , caring helpful concencious... Alison has a heart of gold”
“Petty introduced herself to Mum every time she was caring for her and responded very quickly to Mum if she was distressed in the night.”
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.