Danecroft

Updated 28 January 2022

We carried out this inspection under Section 60 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 as part of our regulatory functions. This inspection was planned to check whether the provider is meeting the legal requirements and regulations associated with the Health and Social Care Act 2008.

As part of CQC’s response to care homes with outbreaks of COVID-19, we are conducting reviews to ensure that the Infection Prevention and Control (IPC) practice is safe and that services are compliant with IPC measures. This was a targeted inspection looking at the IPC practices the provider has in place. We also asked the provider about any staffing pressures the service was experiencing and whether this was having an impact on the service.

This inspection took place on 20 January 2022 and was unannounced.

Updated 28 January 2022

About the service:

Danecroft is a care home which provides care and support for up to 33 people living with various health conditions. Some of the people were living with dementia. The service is spread over two floors, providing single bedrooms and communal areas for people on the ground floor. 30 people were being supported by the service at the time of the inspection.

People's experience of using this service:

People and relatives' feedback was extremely positive and complimentary about the care people received. They all commented positively about the safety, effectiveness and responsiveness of the support people received. There was evidence people achieved excellent care outcomes and relative’s comments about the service supported this.

Everyone said the staff were very caring and passionate about creating a homely, inclusive and happy atmosphere for people living at the service. Staff told us there was a ‘family atmosphere’ which promoted mutual compassion and care. Care was provided in a compassionate way. Staff had respectful, caring and friendly relationships with people they supported. Staff always upheld people's dignity and privacy, and they promoted their independence.

Relatives said the service was exceptional at promoting a caring environment for everyone, including staff. One relative beautifully summed this up when they said, “This is an excellent service and I can give them five stars. They’re absolutely brilliant.”

The provider had introduced many innovative ways to ensure people received the best possible care outcomes. People’s safety, wellbeing and happiness were at the top of the provider's priorities.

The service met the characteristics of Outstanding rating in four key questions of effective, caring, responsive and well-led. Safe was rated Good.

There were well planned and effective processes to ensure people were safe. People were protected from harm by staff who were trained to identify and report concerns. People were safe because potential risks to their health and wellbeing had been managed extremely well. There were enough staff to support people safely. People were supported well to take their medicines. Lessons were learnt from incidents to prevent recurrence. Staff followed effective processes to prevent the spread of infections.

The provider worked extremely hard to ensure people received effective care to meet their needs. People were supported by very skilled and knowledgeable staff. The provider ensured staff practice was supported by good practice guidance so that people achieved good care outcomes. Collaborative working with other care agencies was central to the good care provided to people.

People were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives and staff supported them in the least restrictive way possible and in their best interests; the policies and systems in the service supported this practice.

People received exceptionally personalised care and support which met their needs, reflected their preferences and promoted their wellbeing. People felt they mattered and the service valued relatives’ contributions to discussions about people’s care. The provider was listened to suggestions, concerns and complaints. They used this information to continually improve the service.

There was a positive, open and inclusive culture within the service. Staff roles and responsibilities were clear, and staff were supported and encouraged to use creative and individualised methods to support people to achieve their personal goals. The provider’s values were reflected in the way staff interacted with everyone and how they supported people. The provider’s quality monitoring processes were robust and they evidenced what they did to continually improve the service.

For more details, please see the full report which is on the CQC website at www.cqc.org.uk

Rating at last inspection:

The last rating for this service was good (published 03 March 2017).

Why we inspected:

This was a planned inspection based on the previous rating.

Follow up:

We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service until we return to visit as per our re-inspection programme. If we receive any concerning information we may inspect sooner.