CQC report explained · a residential care home
What the CQC found at The Orchard
Rated Good: inspectors found the home performing well and meeting their expectations.
- Safe?
- Good
- Inspectors found robust recruitment, enough staff to meet people's needs, effective safeguarding arrangements and safe medicines management. Staffing was sufficient provided the home had its full complement on shift.
- Effective?
- Good
- People received care from staff who understood their needs and received induction, supervision and training. Inspectors noted that some training was overdue and that this was being monitored.
- Caring?
- Good
- Staff treated people with respect and dignity and understood their preferred ways of communicating. Inspectors saw relaxed, positive interactions and support for people's independence.
- Responsive?
- Good
- Care plans were detailed, personalised and regularly reviewed. People had individual activity timetables, support to access the community and ways to raise concerns.
- Well-led?
- Good
- Inspectors found an open and supportive culture, strong teamwork and regular quality checks. The manager was highly regarded, but was still progressing through the CQC registration process.
What inspectors found, September 2017
Rated Good; inspectors found safe, kind and personalised care, with some staff training and daily record-keeping still needing attention.
This was an unannounced comprehensive inspection on 15 August 2017. Inspectors observed care, spoke with people, staff, the manager and professionals, and reviewed care plans, medicines, staffing records, menus and quality checks.
The home supported eight people with learning disabilities. Inspectors found enough trained staff, safe medicines management, detailed care plans and respectful care. People were supported to make choices, stay healthy and take part in activities at home and in the community.
The home was rated Good in all five areas: Safe, Effective, Caring, Responsive and Well-led. The report also describes major improvements under the current management, including the environment, activities, communication and quality monitoring.
Some work was still under way. A number of staff training courses were overdue, and the manager said the quality of daily records still needed to improve. The manager was also progressing through the CQC registration process.
Safe staffing and medicines
Inspectors found enough staff to meet people's assessed needs and saw that medicines were ordered, stored, given and disposed of safely.
“The number of qualified and trained staff was sufficient to meet people's needs safely.” from the report
Personalised care
Care plans described people's needs, preferences, routines and communication methods in detail. Staff used this information to provide individual support.
“People's assessed needs were detailed in their care plans and this provided appropriate information for staff to support people in the way they wished.” from the report
Strong management improvements
The report describes major improvements to the home, including its environment, activities, communication, teamwork and quality checks.
“There was not one area of the home from record keeping to the environment that had not been subject to review and improvement.” from the report
Some training was overdue
needs fixingSome staff had not refreshed important training for a considerable time. At the time of inspection, several courses were overdue for staff, including seven courses for an assistant manager.
“We noted that as of 1st August 2017 one member of staff was overdue for four health and safety related courses and one staff member was overdue for one course.” from the report
Daily records needed improvement
minorThe manager acknowledged that the quality of daily records still needed to improve and that staff were being supported with this.
“The manager told us that improvements still needed to be made to the quality of daily records and staff were being supported with this.” from the report
- 01Which staff training courses were overdue at the inspection, and have all of them now been completed?
- 02How do you check the quality and completeness of daily care records?
- 03Has the manager completed the CQC registration process?
- 04How do you maintain safe staffing when staff are off sick or on leave?
- 05What improvements have been made through the new quality assurance monitoring system?
This was an unannounced comprehensive inspection covering all five key questions and the overall quality of the home. This explanation was written from the published report of 16 September 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.
Every inspection of The Orchard
2 rated inspections over a year: the service has improved, from Requires improvement to Good.
- September 2017Goodcurrent ratingup from Requires improvementSafe: GoodEffective: GoodCaring: GoodResponsive: GoodWell-led: Good
- August 2016Requires improvementSafe: Requires improvementEffective: GoodCaring: GoodResponsive: GoodWell-led: Requires improvement
- June 2014
Report published without a new overall rating.
- October 2013
Report published without a new overall rating.
- March 2013
Report published without a new overall rating.
- May 2012
Report published without a new overall rating.
- December 2010
Registered with the Care Quality Commission on 20 December 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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78 live-in carers within about an hour of Wokingham
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 £1,260 a week. 71 can care for a couple. 12 years' experience on average.
“I can truly say that Peter always put Dad at the centre of everything and I know that they found a great friendship in difficult times.”
“Not only has she looked after him beautifully, she has also been great company for him with lively conversation, kindness and humour.”
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.