CQC report explained · a residential care home
What the CQC found at The Cottage Residential Home
Rated Requires improvement: inspectors found the home was not performing as well as it should and told it what to change.
- Safe?
- Good
- Risks were recorded in care plans and updated when people's needs changed. Inspectors found enough staff, safe recruitment, safe medicines procedures and effective infection controls.
- Effective?
- Good
- This key question was not inspected during this visit. Its previous rating was used in calculating the overall rating.
- Caring?
- Requires improvement
- This key question was not inspected during this visit. Its previous rating was used in calculating the overall rating.
- Responsive?
- Requires improvement
- This key question was not inspected during this visit. Its previous rating was used in calculating the overall rating.
- Well-led?
- Good
- Audits were used to monitor care and make improvements. Relatives and staff said communication was open, and staff knew how to raise concerns.
What inspectors found, April 2022
The Cottage Residential Home was rated Requires Improvement overall; inspectors found safe care and good leadership, but this was a focused inspection.
The unannounced inspection took place on 26 January 2022. One inspector reviewed information, spoke with relatives, managers and care workers, and checked six care plans, medicines records, recruitment files and quality audits.
Safe and well-led were both rated Good. Inspectors found enough staff, safe medicines processes, suitable infection controls and systems for identifying risks and learning from incidents. Relatives said staff were kind, open and responsive.
The overall rating stayed Requires Improvement because this inspection only assessed Safe and Well-led. The ratings for Effective, Caring and Responsive were carried forward from the previous inspection. The home had improved since the earlier inspection and was no longer in breach of the regulations previously identified.
Risk management
People's risks were recorded in care plans. Staff were told about changes in people's needs, and records showed planned care had taken place.
“Risks to people had been identified in their care plan. Care was planned to keep people safe.” from the report
Staffing and recruitment
Inspectors found enough staff to meet people's needs and appropriate checks before staff started work. The workforce was described as stable.
“There were enough staff available to meet people's needs. People benefited from a stable workforce who knew them and their needs well.” from the report
Medicines
Staff were trained and had their competence checked. Medicines were stored and given safely, and staff contacted health professionals when missed medicines could affect someone's health.
“Medicines were safely administered and staff knew people's needs well.” from the report
Infection control
Inspectors were assured that the home had measures for preventing and managing infections, including safe admissions, testing, protective equipment and hygiene.
“We were assured that the provider was making sure infection outbreaks can be effectively prevented or managed.” from the report
Open communication
Relatives said staff kept them informed about problems and their relative's day. Staff said they could raise concerns privately or anonymously.
“Relatives spoke about how open the staff team were with them regarding their relatives and told us they were contacted immediately if there were any issues.” from the report
Quality checks
The home used audits covering areas such as medicines and infection prevention. Inspectors said these helped identify concerns and drive improvements.
“These were effective in identifying concerns and driving improvements in the home.” from the report
Some areas were not reassessed
minorThe inspection only looked at Safe and Well-led. The other three ratings, and therefore part of the overall picture, came from the previous inspection.
“For those key questions not inspected, we used the ratings awarded at the last inspection to calculate the overall rating.” from the report
- 01What are the current ratings and any recent concerns for Effective, Caring and Responsive, which were not inspected during this visit?
- 02How will you make sure my relative's care plan and risk assessments are updated when their needs change?
- 03How do you cover last-minute staff absences, and how many staff would normally be working on the relevant shifts?
- 04How often are medicines competencies checked, and what happens if my relative refuses a medicine?
- 05What improvements have resulted from the medicines and infection prevention audits?
This was a focused, unannounced inspection of Safe and Well-led, including infection prevention and control; the Effective, Caring and Responsive ratings were carried forward from the previous inspection. This explanation was written from the published report of 14 April 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, June 2021
The Cottage Residential Home is rated Requires Improvement; inspectors found kind care and enough staff, but ongoing problems with risk management, medicines and oversight.
This was a planned inspection because of the previous Requires Improvement rating. Two inspectors visited on 28 April 2021. They spoke with people, relatives and staff, and checked care records, medicines, recruitment, training and management records.
The home had enough staff and people and relatives said they felt safe. Staff were usually kind and caring. Infection control measures were in place, and accidents and falls were reviewed. However, some risks were not managed properly, including choking risks, modified diets and falls involving blood-thinning medicines. Some medicines guidance was also incomplete.
The home’s checks did not reliably find or fix problems. Repairs and training were delayed, and the provider remained in breach of Regulations 12 and 17. The overall rating stayed Requires Improvement, as did Safe and Well-led. The agency’s home care service was not being used and was not inspected.
People felt safe
People and relatives told inspectors they felt safe living in the home.
“People using the service and their relatives told us they felt safe living at the service.” from the report
Enough staff
Staffing records showed there were enough staff to support the people living in the home.
“Staffing rotas showed there were enough staff to support the needs of the people living at the service.” from the report
Kind interactions
Inspectors saw staff treating people kindly, including knocking before entering rooms.
“Most interactions observed between staff and people living at the service were kind and caring.” from the report
Learning from incidents
Accidents and incidents were reviewed, and actions were taken to reduce the chance of them happening again.
“Accidents and incidents were recorded and reviewed by the registered manager. Positive action was taken to reduce further occurrences.” from the report
Risks and medicines
seriousSome risks were not assessed or managed safely. One person did not receive the prescribed modified diet, and guidance for some medicines was missing or incomplete.
“The provider failed to ensure all risks associated with people's care had been assessed and medicines were managed safely.” from the report
Weak quality checks
seriousAudits did not identify important problems, including medicines issues. Actions from infection control and nutritional audits had not been completed promptly.
“The provider had failed to ensure there were effective quality monitoring systems and processes in place to monitor quality of the service and maintain oversight” from the report
Training and repairs delayed
needs fixingThree staff members who started in 2020 had not completed all mandatory training. Some maintenance work and decoration had also been delayed.
“Three staff who started employment in 2020 had not received all their mandatory training.” from the report
- 01What has been changed to make sure people receive the correct modified diet and are protected from choking?
- 02How are falls involving people who take blood-thinning medicines now managed, and when is medical advice sought?
- 03What written guidance is now in place for giving medicines in food or drink and for as-needed pain relief?
- 04Which staff have completed the mandatory and modified-diet training, and when will any remaining training be finished?
- 05Which repairs and infection-control actions were outstanding at the inspection, and have they now been completed?
This was a planned inspection of Safe and Well-led, including infection prevention and control; Effective, Caring and Responsive were not rated, and the home care service was not inspected because it was not being used. This explanation was written from the published report of 3 June 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.
Every inspection of The Cottage Residential Home
5 rated inspections over 7 years: the service has slipped, from Good to Requires improvement.
- April 2022Requires improvementcurrent ratingstayed Requires improvementSafe: GoodEffective: GoodCaring: Requires improvementResponsive: Requires improvementWell-led: Good
Read what inspectors found at The Cottage Residential Home →
- June 2021Requires improvementSafe: Requires improvementWell-led: Requires improvement
Read what inspectors found at The Cottage Residential Home →
- October 2020Inspected but not ratedSafe: Inspected but not rated
- February 2019Requires improvementstayed Requires improvementSafe: Requires improvementWell-led: Requires improvement
- July 2017Requires improvementdown from GoodSafe: Requires improvementEffective: GoodCaring: GoodResponsive: GoodWell-led: Requires improvement
- May 2015GoodSafe: GoodEffective: GoodCaring: GoodResponsive: GoodWell-led: Good
- June 2013
Report published without a new overall rating.
- March 2013
Report published without a new overall rating.
- July 2012
Report published without a new overall rating.
- February 2012
Report published without a new overall rating.
- January 2011
Registered with the Care Quality Commission on 18 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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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.
8 can care for a couple. 10 years' experience on average.
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