Arbour Walk

Updated 28 October 2021

We carried out this inspection under Section 60 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (the Act) as part of our regulatory functions. This inspection was planned to check whether the provider was meeting legal requirements and regulations associated with the Act, to look at the overall quality of the service, and to provide a rating for the service under the Care Act 2014.

Inspection team:

The inspection was carried out by one inspector, an assistant inspector and an Expert by Experience. An Expert by Experience is a person who has personal experience of using or caring for someone who uses this type of care service.

Service and service type:

The service had a manager registered with the Care Quality Commission and are legally responsible for how the service is run and for the quality and safety of the care provided.

Notice of inspection:

The inspection was unannounced.

What we did:

Before our inspection, we reviewed all the guidance we held about this service. This included notifications the provider is required by law to send us about events that happen within the service.

We used guidance the provider sent us in the Provider Information Return. Providers are required to send us key information about their service, what they do well, and improvements they plan to make. This information helps support our inspections.

During our inspection

We spoke with six people receiving a service and 11 relatives.

We met the registered manager and the area manager. We also met nine people who lived at the home.

We spoke by telephone interview with 5 staff.

We carried out 11 interviews via video calls to people who lived at the home.

Records we looked at included five care plans, four staff files and a range of documents relating to medicines, accidents, incidents and complaints, satisfaction surveys completed by people and their relatives and quality assurance reports.

Updated 28 October 2021

Arbour Walk is a care home that provides nursing care and accommodation to up to 83 older adults with dementia and or mental health needs. There were 59 people, living at the home at the time of the inspection.

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

People and their relatives told us staff were kind and had the skills needed to provide safe and effective care. People felt safe with the staff who supported them with their care needs. One person told us, “ I feel safe because I know I have got someone to talk to when I am feeling low, I talk to staff when I am not feeling well, I like speaking to the manager, he sorts things out .” Another person said, “ I feel safe, I have always got carers around, we are looked after.”

Staff were guided in how to support people safely by current risk assessments showing how to reduce risks for each person they supported. The staff had an up to date understanding of safeguarding. This meant they were aware of what to do to keep people safe, if they thought they were vulnerable to abuse.

There was a system to monitor and learn after accidents and incidents had taken place. People’s medicines were managed safely. Staff knew how to reduce the spread of infection.

People were protected from the risks of unsafe staff. This was because recruitment and selection processes were in place to employ suitable staff. There were enough staff deployed to provide care and support to people that was safe and met their needs.

Regular training for staff was in place. This meant staff were effectively trained to ensure they were fully competent in their work. New staff undertook an induction when they started. Staff spoke positively about the ongoing training they received. They said it helped them to keep their knowledge and skills up to date. Staff attended meetings and met frequently with a senior staff member to discuss and reflect on their practice.

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

People enjoyed the food options and their dietary needs were well catered for. Staff were skilled at encouraging people to eat and drink enough.

People were able to see health professionals when needed. The environment was very dementia friendly and supported people's needs. For example, there was easily readable signage throughout the home to help people find their around.

People spoke very highly of the registered manager and staff team. One person said, “Management is beyond comparison, the care and the trouble they go to, of course I would recommend it, it is the people, we are family now.” Another person told us, “The atmosphere is light-hearted, staff seem to mix well with one another, with the virus they coped very well, they learnt to adjust, they have a calling.”

Quality monitoring systems and processes were in place and were effective at improving the service even further. These were used to review feedback and to check care delivery, staff performance and training.

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

Rating at last inspection

This was the first comprehensive inspection of the service since it was registered with us on 6 March 2020. We carried out a focused inspection of the service on 12 February 2021 where we looked at the safe and well led domains. There were no concerns identified at that time.

Why we inspected

The inspection was undertaken to provide a rating for the service.

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.

You can read the report from our last inspection, by selecting the ‘all reports’ link for Arbour Walk on our website at www.cqc.org.uk.