CQC report explained · a nursing home
What the CQC found at The Gardens Care Home
Rated Requires improvement: inspectors found the home was not performing as well as it should and told it what to change.
What inspectors found, January 2021
Inspected but not rated; inspectors found strong infection control and support for residents during the Covid-19 pandemic.
This was an announced, targeted inspection on 8 December 2020. It checked infection prevention and control because of the coronavirus outbreak. The home was inspected but not given an overall rating.
Inspectors were assured that the home was managing visitors, social distancing, admissions, protective equipment, testing, cleaning and outbreaks safely. Staff had infection control training, and the home had enough protective equipment.
Residents were supported with activities and contact with family and friends by telephone and video. The home was clean and had extra cleaning for frequently touched areas.
Infection control
The home had arrangements to reduce the spread of infection. Visitors were screened, and only essential visits were allowed at the time.
“We were assured that the provider was preventing visitors from catching and spreading infections.” from the report
Protective equipment and testing
Staff were seen using suitable protective equipment, with enough supplies available. Residents and staff were taking part in Covid-19 testing.
“Staff were seen wearing appropriate personal protective equipment (PPE).” from the report
Clean environment
The home was clean and tidy, with extra cleaning of areas people touched often.
“A comprehensive cleaning schedule was in place which included additional cleaning of frequently touched areas such as door handles.” from the report
Support for wellbeing
Residents had individual and socially distanced group activities. They were supported to keep in touch with relatives by telephone and video.
“Regular one to one and socially distanced group activities took place.” from the report
Inspectors raised no specific concerns in this report.
- 01What is the current visiting policy, and how are visitors screened for infection?
- 02Are residents and staff still taking part in a regular Covid-19 or other infection testing programme?
- 03How much protective equipment is currently available, and how is it used safely?
- 04How are residents currently supported to keep in touch with relatives and take part in activities?
- 05What are the home's current CQC ratings, and has there been a later inspection?
This was a targeted, announced inspection of infection prevention and control only; the service was inspected but not rated and the other care areas were not covered. This explanation was written from the published report of 7 January 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, May 2018
The Gardens Care Home was rated Good overall; inspectors found safe, kind and well-managed care, with some records and mealtime improvements needed.
Inspectors visited without notice on 12 April 2018. They spoke with people, relatives, staff and health professionals, and checked care, medicines, staffing, recruitment and management records.
The home was rated Good in all five areas: Safe, Effective, Caring, Responsive and Well-led. People said they felt safe, staff responded promptly, and inspectors saw respectful and caring interactions.
Inspectors found safe medicines systems, suitable staffing, good healthcare support, clean surroundings and activities for people. The home was also found to be meeting the conditions of its registration.
Some records needed improvement. These included medicine audits, a best-interest decision about bed rails, and care plans being moved to a newer format. The manager said these points would be addressed.
Kind and respectful care
Inspectors saw staff treating people with dignity and patience. People appeared comfortable with staff, who knew their lives and preferences.
“People appeared at ease with the staff, looking comfortable and relaxed in their presence.” from the report
Safe medicines systems
Only trained staff gave medicines. Records for receiving, giving and disposing of medicines were completed accurately, and storage was checked.
“Records relating to the receipt, administration and disposal of medicines were completed accurately.” from the report
Good staffing and training
The home maintained expected staffing levels and covered absences. Staff had current training, regular supervision and appraisals.
“Records we viewed showed regular supervision sessions were carried out and staff had an annual appraisal.” from the report
Activities and community links
The home provided activities and helped people access the community. Inspectors also found good links with local organisations and professionals.
“An activities coordinator provided a range of activities within the home and support for people to access the community.” from the report
Quality monitoring
The home used audits, meetings, surveys and complaints to check its service. Where problems were found, action plans recorded what needed to happen.
“These audits included engaging with people who lived at the service to seek their views, reviewing care plans and complaints.” from the report
Medicine audit records
needs fixingSome audits of medicine records had not been completed properly. The manager said they would speak to the staff member involved immediately.
“We raised with the registered manager that some audits had not been well completed relating to medicine records.” from the report
Best-interest decision record
needs fixingOne person's best-interest decision about bed rails was not in the person's own file. The manager said the record had been placed elsewhere and would be kept in the correct file in future.
“We did raise with the registered manager that we found one person did not have a best interest decision in relation to bed rails in place.” from the report
Mealtime equipment
needs fixingOne person with coordination difficulties lost a lot of food from their plate. Inspectors asked the manager to make sure suitable equipment, such as plate guards, was available.
“We did observe one person losing a lot of their food as they had co-ordination difficulties and food fell from their plate.” from the report
Care plan changeover
minorSome care plans were still in the old format and lacked some personalised documents. The manager planned to move all records to the new format within the following month.
“This meant that some plans we viewed were still in an old format and so lacked some of the person centred documents found in the newer plans.” from the report
Dementia-friendly signs
minorThe home had dementia-friendly signs, but inspectors said signage around the dining area could be improved.
“Dementia friendly signage was used to help people orientate around the home although we discussed with the registered manager that this could be further improved around the dining area.” from the report
- 01Have all care plans now been moved to the newer, more personalised format?
- 02How do you check that medicine audits are completed properly and any errors are followed up?
- 03Are best-interest decisions, including decisions about bed rails, kept in each person's own care file?
- 04What equipment is available to help people who have difficulty using plates or eating independently?
- 05What changes have been made to dementia-friendly signs around the dining area?
This was an unannounced inspection covering all five CQC questions, and the home remained Good in every area compared with the February 2016 inspection. This explanation was written from the published report of 24 May 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 Gardens Care Home
3 rated inspections over 3 years: the service has improved, from Requires improvement to Good.
- January 2021Inspected but not ratedcurrent ratingSafe: Inspected but not rated
- May 2018Goodstayed GoodSafe: GoodEffective: GoodCaring: GoodResponsive: GoodWell-led: Good
- April 2016Goodup from Requires improvementSafe: GoodEffective: GoodCaring: GoodResponsive: GoodWell-led: Good
- June 2015Requires improvementSafe: Requires improvementEffective: Requires improvementCaring: GoodResponsive: Requires improvementWell-led: Good
- June 2014
Report published without a new overall rating.
- September 2013
Report published without a new overall rating.
- June 2013
Report published without a new overall rating.
- May 2013
Report published without a new overall rating.
- July 2012
Report published without a new overall rating.
- May 2012
Report published without a new overall rating.
- November 2010
Registered with the Care Quality Commission on 18 November 2010.
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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