Latest Inspection
This is the latest available inspection report for this service, carried out on 24th March 2010. CQC found this care home to be providing an Excellent service.
The inspector made no statutory requirements on the home as a result of this inspection
and there were no outstanding actions from the previous inspection report.
For extracts, read the latest CQC inspection for Amberwood Care Home Limited.
What the care home does well Staff were seen to be friendly and helpful to people and respected their dignity, and this was commented on by all the people we spoke to. They said that the care provided was at a high standard and staff and management were also pleasant and positive. Fire testing is of a good standard to protect people from fire risks.The Registered Manager swiftly responds to any action needed to maintain the standards of the service. The service keeps people and their families informed as to how the home is run. What the care home could do better: Care Plans need to be fully detailed to ensure staff can meet individual needs. Staff need to always alert medical services if people if someone has a potentially serious injury. Fire doors need to be kept shut or only held open with approved fire safety devices. Hot radiators must not pose a burning risk for people live in the home. We need to be informed as to any serious incidents relating to peoples welfare, so that we can monitor and keep a check on these issues. Random inspection report
Care homes for older people
Name: Address: Amberwood Care Home Limited 218 Aylestone Lane Wigston Leicester LE18 1BD three star excellent service The quality rating for this care home is: The rating was made on: A quality rating is our assessment of how well a care home, agency or scheme is meeting the needs of the people who use it. We give a quality rating following a full review of the service. We call this review a ‘key’ inspection. This is a report of a random inspection of this care home. A random inspection is a short, focussed review of the service. Details of how to get other inspection reports for this care home, including the last key inspection report, can be found on the last page of this report. Lead inspector: Keith Charlton Date: 2 4 0 3 2 0 1 0 Information about the care home
Name of care home: Address: Amberwood Care Home Limited 218 Aylestone Lane Wigston Leicester LE18 1BD 01162813474 01162811639 amberwoodcarehome@mail.com Telephone number: Fax number: Email address: Provider web address: Name of registered provider(s): Type of registration: Number of places registered: Conditions of registration: Category(ies) : Amberwood Care Home Limited care home 31 Number of places (if applicable): Under 65 Over 65 31 6 old age, not falling within any other category physical disability Conditions of registration: 0 0 No person falling within category PD(E) may be admitted to the home when there are six older people with a physical disability currently residing at the home. That the total number of residents residing at the home does not exceed 31. Date of last inspection Brief description of the care home Amberwood is residential home providing care for up to 31 older people. It is situated on the out skirts of Wigston in Leicestershire. The home is a detached property set in its own grounds. The home offers accommodation on the ground and first floor. The first floor can be accessed via the stairs or the lift. There are 31 single rooms. All the bedrooms have en-suite facilities. All areas of the home, including the bedrooms, are decorated to a high standard. The home has two lounge areas, three quiet rooms, there are sitting areas around the home in communal space and two conservatory
Care Homes for Older People Page 2 of 9 Brief description of the care home areas, which are all used by the residents All bedrooms have television and telephone extension points. Current fees range from GBP430.00 per week. The Service User Guide and the Statement of Purpose are available in the hallway. A copy of the most recent inspection report is available from the office. A copy of the Commission for Social Care Inspection CSCI and Employers liability certificate is displayed in a hallway in the home. Care Homes for Older People Page 3 of 9 What we found:
Following concerns expressed by an anonymous source we visited the home to follow up the issues identified: 1. There is poor care given to people who live in the home: We spoke to ten people living in the home plus two staff members and a visiting District Nurse. All the people we spoke to praised staff members in regard to the standard of care that they provided, their friendliness, and their willingness to do everything asked of them. Two people said that at times they did not seem to be enough staff members on duty but the home was not seriously understaffed, though one person said that there needed to be another staff member at teatime as currently there were three staff members and, as the senior had to do the medication, there are then effectively only two staff members to deal with the needs of thirty one people. We also spoke to one visitor and she confirmed that the staff were friendly and welcoming and that there was a good warm atmosphere in the home. The District Nurse said that the standard of care appeared very good, she was contacted when needed and staff would carried out her instructions. People also confirmed that although they had no complaints they thought that Katie, the Manager, would sort these out quickly if they brought them to her attention. We also checked complaints records. There have only been two complaints in the past year and both complaints were recorded in detail and the complainant given a full explanation as to the issues they had raised with apologies given if it was found that the home was at fault - so complaints are dealt with professionally. We saw that management keep people and their families informed as to how the home is run by way of a detailed newsletter. We checked quality assurance questionnaires to people who live in the home and these were overwhelmingly positive, though had not been dated, or an action plan set up to deal with small number of issues raised. The Registered Manager said that these issues would be attended to. We checked care plans for some people and found that they were in place but sometimes there was not sufficient detail as to the nature of the problem and how it should be dealt with - for example for one persons care it stated that for personal care more help was needed but it did not say in detail what type of help he needed. A weight chart showed there was no column for weight gained or lost and no action column as to how to deal with any identified problem. With regard to someones moving and handling needs for mobility the plan stated that the person was chair bound though had no detailed moving and handling risk assessment - how many carers were needed to help her, what type of sling was to be used and the type of help needed. We looked at accident records and whilst the majority of them were satisfactory, as staff had appropriately reacted to events, there was an incident in October 2009 where a person had bumped their head, though all the record said was a head injury chart had been started with no record of referral to medical services. The Registered Manager said
Care Homes for Older People Page 4 of 9 that these issues would be followed up as this was not the policy of the home. 2. There is medication malpractice in the home - a staff member giving a person a much higher dose than they should have, and a carer, not giving the right doses of antibiotics by giving two pills a day and not one as prescribed. We checked the people who had been prescribed antibiotics in the past month - all medication was properly signed for except on one occasion in March 2010. We saw a good back up system in place whereby another staff member was responsible for checking on each shift that medication had been properly administered. All medications are blister packed with only as needed medication being in bottles. Management said that each staff member had a training record book and evidence of medication training are in these books. Management agreed with our recommendation to have independent training on medication, instead of the in house system. When we spoke to the Registered Manager she said that it would not have been possible to someone to give many times the dosage of a tablet to a person as when they had been checked at the end of the shift, because they are all blistered, and staff would have alerted senior staff about those. With regard to people being given too many antibiotics she said she would follow this up with the named staff member but again this would have been noticed by other staff, because the antibiotic would have run out in half the prescribed time. There was evidence in a staff meeting in January 2010 that there have been some problems with medication issuing. It was stated more training needed for some members of the night staff team ... some meds may have been missed , drugs ... antibiotics had been signed for to say they had been given, and had not. We therefore saw that the management had identified and addressed these concerns. In addition to the above issues, we checked fire precautions. The Registered Manager said that the home would be replacing door seals to a standard now required, within the next month and that he had reviewed the fire safety assessment. There were also some open/unlocked fire doors around the home on the ground floor - the e mail confirmed that management would ensure that proper fire safety was observed at all times and that approved fire closures were to be installed. We checked file records and found that there was regular testing of fire bells, regular fire drills, and regular testing of emergency lighting. We observed that they were uncovered radiators around the home which could constitute a scalding risk to people who lived in the home if they lent next to them or fell against them. The Registered Manager said that these issues would be attended to, as it was planned to cover all of them in the future to ensure that people were protected against such risks. The Registered Manager swiftly responded to the outcome of this inspection by contacting us with action that will be taken on all the issues raised. What the care home does well:
Staff were seen to be friendly and helpful to people and respected their dignity, and this was commented on by all the people we spoke to. They said that the care provided was at a high standard and staff and management were also pleasant and positive. Fire testing is of a good standard to protect people from fire risks.
Care Homes for Older People Page 5 of 9 The Registered Manager swiftly responds to any action needed to maintain the standards of the service. The service keeps people and their families informed as to how the home is run. What they could do better: If you want to know what action the person responsible for this care home is taking following this report, you can contact them using the details set out on page 2. Care Homes for Older People Page 6 of 9 Are there any outstanding requirements from the last inspection? Yes £ No R Outstanding statutory requirements
These are requirements that were set at the previous inspection, but have still not been met. They say what the registered person had to do to meet the Care Standards Act 2000, Regulations 2001 and the National Minimum Standards.
No. Standard Regulation Requirement Timescale for action Care Homes for Older People Page 7 of 9 Requirements and recommendations from this inspection:
Immediate requirements: These are immediate requirements that were set on the day we visited this care home. The registered person had to meet these within 48 hours.
No. Standard Regulation Requirement Timescale for action 1 7 15 Care plans need to be 25/05/2010 detailed as to the action that needs to be taken. To ensure peoples needs are always met. 2 38 13 The home must be free of all 25/04/2010 hazards. To ensure peoples health is always protected. Statutory requirements These requirements set out what the registered person must do to meet the Care Standards Act 2000, Regulations 2001 and the National Minimum Standards. The registered person(s) must do this within the timescales we have set.
No. Standard Regulation Requirement Timescale for action Recommendations These recommendations are taken from the best practice described in the National Minimum Standards and the registered person(s) should consider them as a way of improving their service.
No Refer to Standard Good Practice Recommendations 1 27 Staffing levels need to be reviewed and increased as needed, to ensure that peoples needs are met at all times. Care Homes for Older People Page 8 of 9 Reader Information
Document Purpose: Author: Audience: Further copies from: Inspection Report Care Quality Commission General Public 0870 240 7535 (telephone order line) Our duty to regulate social care services is set out in the Care Standards Act 2000. Copies of the National Minimum Standards –Care Homes for Older People can be found at www.dh.gov.uk or got from The Stationery Office (TSO) PO Box 29, St Crispins, Duke Street, Norwich, NR3 1GN. Tel: 0870 600 5522. Online ordering from the Stationery Office is also available: www.tso.co.uk/bookshop Helpline: Telephone: 03000 616161 Email: enquiries@cqc.org.uk Web: www.cqc.org.uk We want people to be able to access this information. If you would like a summary in a different format or language please contact our helpline or go to our website. © Care Quality Commission 2010 This publication may be reproduced in whole or in part in any format or medium for noncommercial purposes, provided that it is reproduced accurately and not used in a derogatory manner or in a misleading context. The source should be acknowledged, by showing the publication title and © Care Quality Commission 2010. Care Homes for Older People Page 9 of 9 - Please note that this information is included on www.bestcarehome.co.uk under license from the regulator. Re-publishing this information is in breach of the terms of use of that website. Discrete codes and changes have been inserted throughout the textual data shown on the site that will provide incontrovertable proof of copying in the event this information is re-published on other websites. The policy of www.bestcarehome.co.uk is to use all legal avenues to pursue such offenders, including recovery of costs. You have been warned!
