CQC report explained · a residential care home
What the CQC found at The Old Vicarage
Rated Good: inspectors found the home performing well and meeting their expectations.
- Safe?
- Good
- Inspectors found effective safeguarding, suitable risk assessments, enough staff and safe medicine systems. Fire safety, infection control and accident reporting were also judged effective.
- Effective?
- Good
- The report does not give a new rating for Effective.
- Caring?
- Good
- The report does not give a new rating for Caring. Inspectors did report that staff were kind, caring and compassionate.
- Responsive?
- Good
- The report does not give a new rating for Responsive. Inspectors found individualised activities, support for personal preferences and help to maintain relationships.
- Well-led?
- Good
- Inspectors found strong person-centred leadership, clear staff roles, regular feedback and good partnership working with health and social care professionals.
What inspectors found, January 2023
Rated Good; inspectors found safe, person-centred care and strong management.
This was an unannounced inspection carried out on 23 November and 4 December 2022. Inspectors spoke with five people living in the home, six staff members, three relatives and three healthcare professionals. They also reviewed care, medicine, recruitment, training and management records.
The home supported seven people with learning disabilities and autism. Inspectors found a strong person-centred approach. People were supported to make choices, build independence, take part in activities and maintain relationships. Staff were described as kind, caring and knowledgeable.
The home was rated Good overall. Safe was rated Good, meaning inspectors found people were protected from avoidable harm. Well-led was also rated Good, meaning the home was consistently managed and leaders supported high-quality, person-centred care.
The previous overall rating was Good, published in October 2018. The ratings for Safe and Well-led remained Good. The inspection was part of a random selection of services already rated Good or Outstanding.
Person-centred support
People were supported to make choices, take positive risks and work towards greater independence. Activities were matched to personal preferences and goals.
“There was a strong person-centred culture that encouraged people to make decisions about their life.” from the report
Kind and trusted staff
People and relatives said they felt safe and well cared for. Staff knew people well and supported them in a respectful way.
“People consistently told us they felt safe and well cared for and relatives corroborated this.” from the report
Safe staffing and medicines
Inspectors found enough staff to meet people's needs, with each person having a key worker. Medicines were administered, recorded and stored through safe systems.
“There were enough staff deployed to keep people safe and meet their needs in a timely manner.” from the report
Open management
The management team sought feedback from people, relatives and staff and used action plans to respond to concerns. Staff understood their roles and responsibilities.
“The provider listened to and acted on concerns from relatives which encouraged open communication.” from the report
Good partnership working
The home worked with social workers, community nurses and other professionals to support people's choices and quality of life.
“The service worked well in partnership with other health and social care professionals, such as social workers and community nurses” from the report
Inspectors raised no specific concerns in this report.
- 01How will you identify and support my relative's personal goals, preferred activities and longer-term aspirations?
- 02Who would be my relative's key worker, and how would that person support their choices, visits and activities?
- 03How do you check that medicines are given safely and what would you do if there was a medicines error?
- 04How will my family member be supported to maintain relationships through visits, phone calls, email or video calls?
- 05What action has been taken in response to recent feedback from relatives, people living in the home and staff?
This inspection rated Safe and Well-led; the report does not give new ratings for Effective, Caring or Responsive. This explanation was written from the published report of 5 January 2023 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, October 2018
Rated Good; inspectors found safe, kind and personalised care, with some improvements needed in mental capacity records.
This was the first inspection since the home was registered in September 2017. It was an announced inspection over 3 and 4 September 2018. One inspector spoke with people, relatives, staff and the manager, observed care, and checked care, medicine, training and quality records.
The home was rated Good in all five areas: Safe, Effective, Caring, Responsive and Well-led. Inspectors found that people were safe, medicines were managed properly, staffing was sufficient and staff had suitable training and support.
People were treated kindly and with respect. Staff supported people to make choices, stay independent, eat well, use health services and take part in activities they enjoyed. The home had systems to check quality and act on problems.
Inspectors found that some mental capacity assessments were not specific to the decision being made. Some best interest records did not show how families had been involved. They made a recommendation to improve these records, and the manager had started work on it during the inspection.
Kind and respectful care
Inspectors saw staff being patient and treating people with dignity. People were supported at their own pace.
“People were supported by staff who were kind and caring and we observed staff treating people with patience.” from the report
Personalised support
Care plans included detailed information about people's health, communication and support needs. Staff knew this information and used it in practice.
“Each person had a detailed document which gave important information about them such as their support needs, preferences and health conditions.” from the report
Safe care and medicines
Inspectors found suitable risk assessments, sufficient staffing and safe medicine systems. Medicine records checked had no gaps.
“Medicines were managed safely. People's medicine administration records (MARs) provided details about people, the medicines prescribed as well as specific instructions about administration.” from the report
Support for independence
People were encouraged to do everyday tasks, prepare food, use their own spaces and take part in work or activities.
“People's independence was respected and promoted.” from the report
Quality checks and leadership
The management team carried out checks, responded to improvements and kept staff informed through handovers and meetings.
“We saw the registered manager and staff in the home carried out checks on the service to monitor that good standards were being maintained.” from the report
Mental capacity records
needs fixingSome mental capacity assessments were not specific to the decision involved. Some best interest decisions did not record how families had been involved. Inspectors made a recommendation, and the manager had begun improving this during the inspection.
“When we reviewed the records of mental capacity assessments we found these were not always decision specific and best interest decisions did not always record how families had been involved.” from the report
As-needed medicine guidance
minorWritten guidance for one person's as-needed medicine was not as detailed as the information staff gave verbally. The manager added the missing information straight away.
“We found the written guidance for one person's 'as required' medicine were not as detailed as the information staff were able to give us verbally.” from the report
- 01How have you improved mental capacity assessments so that each one relates to the specific decision being made?
- 02How do you record family involvement in best interest decisions?
- 03What written guidance is now in place for as-needed medicines?
- 04How do you make sure care plans and communication methods remain up to date as people's needs change?
- 05How are staffing levels decided for people who need one-to-one support?
This was the first overall inspection and covered the home, the care provided and all five key questions. This explanation was written from the published report of 13 October 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 Old Vicarage
2 rated inspections over 4 years: the service has held its Good rating throughout.
- January 2023Goodcurrent ratingstayed GoodSafe: GoodEffective: GoodCaring: GoodResponsive: GoodWell-led: Good
- October 2018GoodSafe: GoodWell-led: Good
- September 2017
Registered with the Care Quality Commission on 6 September 2017.
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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At least 100 live-in carers within about an hour of Kirklees
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 £1,260 a week. 86 can care for a couple. 11 years' experience on average.
“Carla has been a god send with the implementation of bringing mum back home from respite care.”
“Primrose is a very kind and compassionate healthcare professional”
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.