CQC report explained · a residential care home
What the CQC found at Teamcare Limited t/a Highcliffe Residential Home
Rated Good: inspectors found the home performing well and meeting their expectations.
What inspectors found, February 2022
Highcliffe Residential Home was inspected but not rated; inspectors found good COVID-19 infection control, but this was not a full assessment of the home.
This was an announced, targeted inspection on 6 January 2022. It focused on infection prevention and control, visiting arrangements and pressures caused by COVID-19 staffing issues.
Inspectors found policies for infection control and visiting. They were assured that the home was using personal protective equipment safely, arranging testing, managing admissions and supporting visits in line with guidance.
The home was clean and hygienic. Inspectors saw staff wearing personal protective equipment correctly and found supplies available. The service was inspected but not rated, so this report does not give an overall quality rating.
Infection control guidance
The home had policies and procedures giving staff guidance about infection control, COVID-19 and visiting.
“There were policies and procedures in place, which provided staff with clear guidance about good infection control practices, including the management of Covid-19 and visiting arrangements during the pandemic.” from the report
Clean environment
Inspectors found the environment clean and hygienic, with cleaning schedules and regular cleaning of frequently touched areas.
“There were cleaning schedules in place and the environment was clean and hygienic.” from the report
PPE supplies and use
Staff were seen wearing personal protective equipment correctly, and supplies were available in suitable places.
“We saw staff wearing PPE correctly and there were well stocked PPE stations set up in appropriate areas within the home.” from the report
Testing and vaccination
The report says staff had received COVID-19 vaccinations and completed infection control training. The service was also meeting vaccination requirements for non-exempt staff and visiting professionals.
“All employees had received both Covid-19 vaccinations and had completed specific training in relation to infection control and the management of Covid-19.” from the report
Inspectors raised no specific concerns in this report.
- 01How are you currently managing staffing pressures linked to COVID-19, and what effect do they have on care?
- 02How often are frequently touched areas cleaned and sanitised?
- 03How do you check that staff and visiting professionals meet the current COVID-19 vaccination or exemption requirements?
- 04How are visits arranged when infection risks or outbreaks occur?
- 05What were the findings and ratings at the home's last full inspection?
This was a targeted inspection of infection prevention and control, visiting arrangements and COVID-19 staffing pressures; it was not a full assessment of all five quality questions and the service was inspected but not rated. This explanation was written from the published report of 2 February 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.
What inspectors found, December 2017
Rated Good overall, but inspectors found the home was not always well-led because medicine checks did not identify a controlled-drug problem.
Inspectors visited on 24 and 25 October 2017. The first day was unannounced. They observed care, spoke with people, relatives, staff and health professionals, and checked care records, medicines, recruitment files, training records and management audits.
People were described as safe and well cared for. Inspectors found enough staff, suitable recruitment checks, improved care plans and risk assessments, respectful care, appropriate activities and a complaints process that people understood. Staff training was up to date, although some completed training had not been added to the training register.
The overall rating was Good. Safe, Effective, Caring and Responsive were all rated Good. Well-led was rated Requires Improvement because management checks did not identify that a controlled drug had been accidentally destroyed without a proper investigation or record at the time.
Enough staff
Inspectors found sufficient staff on duty and saw staff respond quickly when people needed help.
“During the inspection we saw that there were sufficient numbers of staff to meet people's needs.” from the report
Kind and respectful care
People and relatives described staff as kind and caring. Inspectors saw warm, respectful communication and staff who understood people's individual ways of communicating.
“Conversations between staff and people living at the home were respectful, warm and compassionate.” from the report
Improved care records
Compared with the previous inspection, care files were more accurate and person-centred. Risk assessments and care plans gave staff clear guidance and were reviewed regularly.
“People's care files were detailed and the information contained within them was consistent and accurate.” from the report
Activities and personal choice
People could take part in group or one-to-one activities, including church visits. Staff supported people who preferred to stay in their rooms.
“People were supported to engage in a range of activities.” from the report
Improvements since the last inspection
The home improved safeguarding reporting, medicine records, risk assessments, audits and staff refresher training after the previous inspection.
“At this inspection we found that significant improvements had been made in most these areas.” from the report
Controlled medicine incident
needs fixingA controlled drug had been accidentally destroyed. The home had not properly investigated or documented what happened, and its audit did not identify the issue. Inspectors said this could have led to abuse of the drug.
“The home had not instigated any form of enquiry around this to check the propriety of the error” from the report
Management checks
needs fixingThe home’s quality checks were not always effective. The provider said a monthly medicines and management audit would be introduced after the inspection.
“Although we found substantial improvements in this area, the service still had some improvements to make to ensure that issues were picked up and acted on in a timely manner.” from the report
Fire safety work
needs fixingSome structural fire safety improvements were still outstanding during the visit. The fire service was satisfied with the work underway and planned a further inspection later in 2017.
“During our inspection we noted that some of these improvements were outstanding” from the report
Medicine patch records
minorStaff were not recording where medicine patches were placed on a body map. The manager said a recording system would be introduced immediately to reduce the risk of using the same area too often.
“However, staff were not recording the application of patches on a 'body map'” from the report
- 01What happened after the inspection to the new monthly provider-led audit of medicines and management processes?
- 02How do you now investigate and record any accidental loss or destruction of controlled medicines?
- 03Were all the structural fire safety improvements completed, and what did the later fire safety inspection find?
- 04Have personal emergency evacuation plans now been completed for every person living in the home?
- 05How are medicine patches recorded so staff do not repeatedly use the same area of the body?
This was a comprehensive inspection covering all five key questions, following breaches found at the September 2016 inspection. This explanation was written from the published report of 5 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 Teamcare Limited t/a Highcliffe Residential Home
2 rated inspections over a year: the service has improved, from Requires improvement to Good.
- February 2022Inspected but not ratedcurrent ratingSafe: Inspected but not rated
Read what inspectors found at Teamcare Limited t/a Highcliffe Residential Home →
- December 2017Goodup from Requires improvementSafe: GoodEffective: GoodCaring: GoodResponsive: GoodWell-led: Requires improvement
Read what inspectors found at Teamcare Limited t/a Highcliffe Residential Home →
- November 2016Requires improvementSafe: Requires improvementEffective: Requires improvementCaring: GoodResponsive: Requires improvementWell-led: Requires improvement
- November 2013
Report published without a new overall rating.
- December 2012
Report published without a new overall rating.
- January 2012
Report published without a new overall rating.
- January 2011
Registered with the Care Quality Commission on 14 January 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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Most charge £980 to £1,260 a week. 78 can care for a couple. 11 years' experience on average.
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