The Meadows Care Home

Updated 19 December 2020

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 coronavirus, we are conducting reviews to ensure that the Infection Prevention and Control practice was safe and the service was compliant with IPC measures. This was a targeted inspection looking at the IPC practices the provider has in place.

This inspection took place on 10 December 2020 and was announced.

Updated 19 December 2020

About the service

The Meadows Care Home is a residential care home providing personal care to 36 older people and people living with dementia. At the time of the inspection, the service supported 28 people.

People’s experience of using this service and what we found

People living at The Meadows Care Home told us they were happy and well cared for. Staff were aware of the importance of keeping people safe and demonstrated a clear understanding of people’s diverse needs and how to support their independence.

Staff followed best practice guidance to ensure medicines were managed and administered safely. People received support to take their medicines as prescribed.

A range of checks were carried out on staff prior to commencing their duties to ensure they were suitable to work in the service. All staff completed an induction to their role and were provided with ongoing training, supervision and appraisal to ensure they had the right skills and knowledge to support people safely in line with best practice guidance.

Staff understood their roles and knew what was expected of them. People were treated respectfully; their dignity was promoted. People had good access to other health professionals to maintain their wellbeing.

Staff had built positive, supportive relationships with people which enabled friendly conversations and offers of reassurance when required. The home employed a dedicated staff member to provide people with the opportunity to engage in a variety of activities, events and interests of their choosing.

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

Care and support were tailored to each person's needs and preferences. Where people were able to, they were fully involved in their care plans. Where assessments confirmed people did not always have capacity to make decisions, staff understood the importance of offering choice.

The registered manager was passionate about the service and responsive to any concerns. Staff spoke positively about the way they were managed and the support they received. Everybody told us the management team were approachable and listened to them when they had any concerns. All feedback was used to make continuous improvements to 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 4 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.