CQC report explained · a residential care home
What the CQC found at The Radley Care Home
Rated Requires improvement: inspectors found the home was not performing as well as it should and told it what to change.
- Safe?
- Requires improvement
- Medicines were not always monitored safely. Inspectors found a missed blood test, inaccurate stock records and missing emergency guidance in a care plan.
- Effective?
- Good
- This question was not inspected during this focused visit. Its previous rating was carried forward.
- Caring?
- Good
- This question was not inspected during this focused visit. The report nevertheless describes kind, compassionate care that respected people's dignity and choices.
- Responsive?
- Good
- This question was not inspected during this focused visit. The report describes personalised support, activities and help with communication and community access.
- Well-led?
- Requires improvement
- Managers were visible and supportive, but quality assurance checks failed to identify the medicines and safeguarding issues found by inspectors.
What inspectors found, June 2023
The Radley Care Home is rated Requires Improvement; inspectors found kind, personalised care but serious medicines monitoring problems.
This was an unannounced focused inspection on 17 May and 5 June 2023. Inspectors looked at Safe and Well-led after concerns about medicines and people's care needs. They spoke with people, relatives, staff and professionals, and checked care, medicines and management records.
The home was not always safe. One person had gone seven months without a blood test needed to set the dose of an anti-clotting medicine. Inspectors also found gaps in medicine checks, emergency guidance and some staff's safeguarding knowledge.
The home was caring and supported people's choices, interests and independence. Staff generally knew people well, treated them with kindness and provided enough staff. However, quality checks had failed to find the medicines and safeguarding problems.
The overall rating is Requires Improvement. Safe and Well-led were both rated Requires Improvement. The other three areas were not inspected during this visit, so their previous ratings were carried forward. The previous overall rating was Good, published in April 2018.
Kind and respectful care
People received compassionate care and staff protected their privacy and dignity.
“People received kind and compassionate care. Staff protected and respected people's privacy and dignity.” from the report
Choice and independence
People were supported to make choices, follow their interests and take part in everyday activities and community life.
“People could take part in activities and pursue interests that were tailored to them.” from the report
Staffing and recruitment
Inspectors found enough staff, with skills that matched people's needs. Recruitment checks were effective.
“The numbers and skills of staff matched the needs of people using the service.” from the report
Open management response
The registered manager acted quickly when problems were identified and was open about what had happened.
“The registered manager was very quick to react and put measures in place to improve care delivery when a problem had been identified.” from the report
Medicines monitoring
seriousA required blood test for one person's anti-clotting medicine had not been arranged for seven months. Inspectors said this put the person at risk of harm.
“For 1 person who was prescribed an anti-coagulant, staff had failed to arrange a blood test for 7 months.” from the report
Medicine records and emergency guidance
seriousOver-the-counter medicine stock records did not match the medicine held. A seizure care plan also did not say when to call an ambulance.
“Care plans did not always have the necessary information to guide staff on when to seek emergency healthcare.” from the report
Safeguarding knowledge
needs fixingSome non-senior staff could not describe different forms of abuse or explain who they could report concerns to outside the organisation.
“However, non-senior staff were not able to describe what most forms of abuse looked like and did not know who they could report abuse to external to the organisation.” from the report
Quality checks
needs fixingThe home's audits did not identify the medicines and safeguarding problems found during the inspection. CQC recommended that the auditing system be reviewed.
“Audits and observations of staff practice were taking place, but they had failed to identify the issues found during the inspection in relation to medicines and staff knowledge of safeguarding.” from the report
Delayed liberty assessments
needs fixingSome DoLS applications had been waiting for local authority assessment for more than four years. The report says this could mean people faced unlawful restrictions or missed conditions.
“This meant that some people might never be assessed and could be subject to unlawful restrictions or missing conditions on DoLS due to long delays in assessment.” from the report
- 01What specific changes have been made to ensure every required blood test for medicines is arranged on time?
- 02How are medicine stock checks now recorded, and who reviews them?
- 03How do care plans explain when staff must seek emergency help, including for seizures?
- 04What training have all staff received on recognising and reporting different forms of abuse?
- 05What action is being taken while DoLS applications remain delayed with the local authority?
This was a focused inspection of Safe and Well-led only; the other key question ratings were carried forward from the previous inspection. This explanation was written from the published report of 20 June 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, January 2022
The Radley Care Home was inspected but not rated; inspectors found good infection control and visiting arrangements during the COVID-19 pandemic.
This was a targeted inspection on 17 January 2022. Inspectors looked mainly at infection prevention and control, visiting arrangements, and staffing pressures linked to COVID-19. The home was given about 24 hours' notice.
Inspectors found that visitors were supported to test for COVID-19 and use personal protective equipment. The home had outdoor visiting arrangements, cleaning schedules, good ventilation and supplies of protective equipment.
Inspectors were assured that people were admitted safely, testing was available, outbreaks could be managed, and visits followed current guidance. The home was also meeting the COVID-19 vaccination requirement for non-exempt staff and visiting professionals.
The service was inspected but not rated. This report is not a full assessment of all five areas of care.
Visiting arrangements
The home followed the visiting guidance in place at the time. People had three named visitors and an essential care giver, with support for testing and protective equipment.
“People had three named visitors and an essential care giver.” from the report
Clean environment
Inspectors found the home clean and hygienic, with cleaning schedules and suitable ventilation. The layout and communal areas supported social distancing.
“The premises looked clean and hygienic throughout.” from the report
Protective equipment and training
There were protective equipment stations around the home, and staff had training in infection prevention and how to put on and remove protective equipment.
“Staff had received training in infection prevention and control and how to don and doff PPE.” from the report
Outbreak planning
Staff knew who to contact and which procedures to follow if there was a COVID-19 outbreak. The home also tested people before admission and supported isolation when appropriate.
“The staff were aware of who to contact should they have a outbreak of COVID 19 and the protocols to follow.” from the report
Inspectors raised no specific concerns in this report.
- 01How are visitors currently tested and supported to use protective equipment?
- 02How do you manage admissions and isolation when someone may have an infection?
- 03What measures are currently in place to manage staffing pressures?
- 04How often are staff trained in infection prevention and the safe use of protective equipment?
- 05What procedures would you follow if there were an infection outbreak in the home?
This was a targeted inspection of infection prevention and control, visiting arrangements and COVID-19-related staffing pressures; the service was inspected but not rated overall. This explanation was written from the published report of 28 January 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.
Every inspection of The Radley Care Home
2 rated inspections over 5 years: the service has slipped, from Good to Requires improvement.
- June 2023Requires improvementcurrent ratingSafe: Requires improvementEffective: GoodCaring: GoodResponsive: GoodWell-led: Requires improvement
- January 2022Inspected but not ratedSafe: Inspected but not rated
- June 2018GoodSafe: GoodWell-led: Good
- June 2017
Registered with the Care Quality Commission on 30 June 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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