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CQC report explained · a residential care home

What the CQC found at The Bungalow

Goodpublished 28 February 2024, 2 years ago

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

The latest report, explained

What inspectors found, December 2017

Rated Good; inspectors found caring, safe care, but some handwritten medicines entries did not have two staff signatures.

This was an unannounced comprehensive inspection on 15 November 2017. One inspector met everyone living at the home, one day-care person, staff, a relative and the manager. They reviewed care records, medicines, recruitment, health and safety, and quality checks.

The home supported seven people with learning disabilities, autism and or physical disabilities. Inspectors found enough trained staff, safe medicines arrangements, clean surroundings and suitable support with health needs. They saw staff treating people kindly and respecting their privacy, choices and routines.

The home was rated Good in all five areas: Safe, Effective, Caring, Responsive and Well-led. It had also been rated Good at the previous inspection in October 2015. Inspectors noted one medicines-record issue: handwritten entries were not always checked and confirmed by two staff signatures.

What inspectors praised
  • Enough skilled staff

    Inspectors found enough staff to keep people safe and meet their needs. Staff had training and demonstrated a good understanding of the people they supported.

    “People were supported by adequate numbers of staff who had the skills and knowledge to meet their needs.” from the report
  • Respectful care

    Staff were kind, patient and respectful. People were supported with privacy and dignity, including during personal care.

    “Staff treated people with dignity and respect.” from the report
  • Personalised support

    Staff understood how people communicated, including through sounds, body language, objects and signs. They supported personal routines, preferred activities and contact with important people.

    “Staff were skilled in recognising what a person wanted or was feeling even though people were unable to communicate their needs.” from the report
  • Quality monitoring

    The home used regular audits and reviews to monitor care and identify improvements. Inspectors found the management open and approachable.

    “There were quality assurance systems which monitored and improved the quality of the service provided.” from the report
What inspectors were concerned about
  • Medicines records

    needs fixing

    Handwritten entries on medicines administration records did not always have the required confirmation from two staff signatures. Inspectors discussed this with the home to reduce the risk of errors.

    “To reduce the risk of errors, we discussed the need to ensure that any hand written entries on the MAR charts were checked and confirmed by two staff signatures as this was not always happening.” from the report
Questions to ask them, based on this report
  1. 01What action was taken after inspectors found that handwritten medicines entries did not always have two staff signatures?
  2. 02How do you make sure staff follow each person's preferred communication method when they cannot communicate verbally?
  3. 03How are people's health needs monitored and recorded after appointments with health professionals?
  4. 04How are people and their representatives involved in reviewing care plans and decisions?
  5. 05What activities and trips are currently available, and how do you adapt them to each person's preferences?

This was an unannounced comprehensive inspection covering all five areas, and the ratings from the previous inspection in October 2015 were also Good. This explanation was written from the published report of 8 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.

The story over the years

Every inspection of The Bungalow

2 rated inspections over 2 years: the service has held its Good rating throughout.

  1. December 2017Goodcurrent ratingstayed Good
    Safe: GoodEffective: GoodCaring: GoodResponsive: GoodWell-led: Good

    Read what inspectors found at The Bungalow →

  2. November 2015Good
    Safe: GoodEffective: GoodCaring: GoodResponsive: GoodWell-led: Good

    We are reading this report · the original is on cqc.org.uk

  3. June 2014

    Registered with the Care Quality Commission on 20 June 2014.

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.

Next steps

Weigh the report against the rest

Care at home

76 live-in carers within about two hours of Somerset

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 £1,020 to £1,370 a week. 62 can care for a couple. 12 years' experience on average.

“She looked after my mum, who can be incredibly challenging, so well and so gently, and we always felt confident that my mum was getting the best care available.”
Holly C., about Dace L.
“She was not phased by anything, she was adaptable, kind & gave us complete confidence to go away & not worry about a thing!”
Karen C., about Mandy E.
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