CQC report explained · a residential care home
What the CQC found at The Cottage
Rated Outstanding: inspectors found the home performing exceptionally well.
- Safe?
- Good
- Inspectors were assured about infection prevention and control, including visitors, social distancing, PPE, testing, cleaning, admissions and outbreak planning.
- Effective?
- Good
- Does the care work? Training, consent, food and drink, working with GPs and nurses.
- Caring?
- Good
- Are people treated with kindness and dignity?
- Responsive?
- Outstanding
- Is care built around the person? Care plans, activities, complaints.
- Well-led?
- Outstanding
- Is the home run well? The manager, the culture, how problems get found and fixed.
What inspectors found, May 2021
The Cottage was inspected but not rated; inspectors found strong infection-control planning and support for people's wellbeing during the pandemic.
This was a targeted, announced inspection on 28 April 2021. It looked at infection prevention and control in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, rather than providing a full inspection of the home.
Inspectors found that infection risks had been assessed carefully. The home had plans for outbreaks, enhanced cleaning checks, safe use of personal protective equipment, testing arrangements and updated infection-control guidance.
The home also used creative activities to reduce the effects of social restrictions. People were supported to keep in touch with relatives and friends through video calls, visits and shared photographs.
The service was inspected but not rated. This means the report does not give a new overall rating or full ratings for all five areas of care.
Pandemic risk planning
The registered manager and senior staff assessed infection risks and balanced them against the risk of people becoming isolated. They also sought advice from local infection prevention teams.
“Risks of infection had been carefully assessed and balanced against the risk of isolation to people's wellbeing.” from the report
Creative activities
Staff developed activities to help people continue daily life during restrictions, including a temporary shop, virtual events, a quiz and cook-along evenings.
“Creative approaches had been developed to support people's daily living activities that may otherwise have been curtailed by social restrictions.” from the report
Cleaning oversight
The home introduced extra monitoring of cleaning and infection-control practices. Remote monitoring of touch points was used to reduce the need for visits to the home.
“Enhanced monitoring had been introduced to ensure oversight of increased cleaning and infection control practices.” from the report
Family contact
People were supported to keep in touch with family and friends through video calls, outdoor visits, photographs, emails and social media.
“People had been supported proactively by staff to maintain contact with their families and friends.” from the report
Inspectors raised no specific concerns in this report.
- 01How have your infection-control and outbreak plans changed since the inspection on 28 April 2021?
- 02How do you currently monitor cleaning of high-touch areas, and how can families see that checks are being completed?
- 03What arrangements are now in place for visits and contact with family and friends?
- 04How do you support people to take part in activities and maintain their wellbeing during any restrictions?
- 05Can you show me the home's current full CQC rating and explain any areas not covered by this inspection?
This was a targeted inspection of infection prevention and control during the COVID-19 pandemic; it did not provide a full rating of the home or ratings for the other four key questions. This explanation was written from the published report of 19 May 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.
What inspectors found, December 2018
Rated Outstanding; inspectors found safe, kind and highly personalised care, with strong community involvement and leadership.
Inspectors made an unannounced visit on 22 November 2018. They spoke with people living at the home, relatives, staff, managers and the provider. They observed care, checked two care records, medicines, staff training and management records.
The home was rated Outstanding overall. Safe, Effective and Caring were rated Good. Responsive and Well-led were rated Outstanding. Inspectors found enough suitable staff, safe medicines practice, good support with health and food, respectful care and strong support for people's choices and independence.
People were helped to take part in community projects, music groups, holidays and other activities. The home had acted on the safeguarding concerns found at the previous inspection in December 2016, when the overall rating was Requires Improvement.
Community involvement
People were supported to take part in local projects and were treated as active members of their community. This included helping with a park project that received the Green Flag award.
“People were strongly supported to be visible, active and valued members of the local community.” from the report
Choice and independence
People were supported to make everyday choices, communicate their wishes and do as much as possible for themselves. Staff used pictorial plans and other aids where needed.
“People's independence was vigorously promoted and they were involved in various areas of daily living.” from the report
Kind and respectful care
Inspectors saw warm, patient interactions. Staff supported privacy, comfort and relationships with relatives and friends.
“We observed caring and compassionate interactions between people and staff.” from the report
Strong leadership
The registered manager was described as approachable and supportive. Staff were encouraged to suggest improvements and take part in developing the service.
“There was a clear vision about the direction and culture of the service, which promoted an ethos of involvement and creative ideas to ensure people had a full and satisfying life.” from the report
Safeguarding improvements
The home had acted on the safeguarding weakness found at the previous inspection. New recording and referral systems had been introduced and were being monitored.
“At this inspection, we found that improvements had been made and this area was rated as good.” from the report
Previous safeguarding weakness
seriousAt the previous inspection, staff were not always clear about reporting and acting on abuse. Inspectors said this had been improved by the 2018 inspection, but families may still want to ask how the new system is kept effective.
“At our last inspection, we found that staff were not always aware of their responsibilities to report and act on abuse.” from the report
- 01How do you check that the safeguarding recording and referral system remains effective?
- 02Which community activities and projects are currently available, and how do you match them to each person's interests?
- 03How do you support people who want to manage some or all of their own medicines?
- 04How do staff use pictorial communication plans to support my relative's choices and needs?
- 05How are relatives involved in care reviews, complaints and decisions about end-of-life wishes?
This was an unannounced comprehensive inspection that looked at all five CQC questions and included care, medicines, staffing, training and management systems. This explanation was written from the published report of 19 December 2018 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
3 rated inspections over 3 years: the service has improved, from Good to Outstanding.
- May 2021Inspected but not ratedcurrent ratingSafe: Inspected but not rated
- December 2018Outstandingup from Requires improvementSafe: GoodEffective: GoodCaring: GoodResponsive: OutstandingWell-led: Outstanding
- December 2017Requires improvementdown from GoodSafe: Requires improvementEffective: GoodCaring: GoodResponsive: GoodWell-led: Requires improvement
- December 2015GoodSafe: Requires improvementEffective: GoodCaring: GoodResponsive: GoodWell-led: Good
- October 2013
Report published without a new overall rating.
- March 2013
Report published without a new overall rating.
- January 2011
Registered with the Care Quality Commission on 19 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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What to check when you visit
At least 100 live-in carers within about an hour of Staffordshire
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 £1,230 a week. 85 can care for a couple. 10 years' experience on average.
“We particularly appreciate the companionship Dawn gives in the evenings when she plays cards and Scrabble with my mother.”
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.