The Meadows Care Home
Haverhill, CB9 · 1.0 km
NursingDementia
Rated 7 years agocare home
CQC report explained · a residential care home, run by Cambridge Care Homes
Cambridge House
11 Bryony Close, Haverhill, CB9 9DJ
Goodpublished 5 September 2023, 2 years ago
Rated Good: inspectors found the service performing well and meeting their expectations.
The five questions inspectors ask
- Safe?
- Good
- People had enough staff and were supported by staff who understood their needs. Medicines, infection control, safeguarding and fire safety were managed well, although an external area still needed repair.
- Effective?
- Good
- This question was not inspected in this report, so no rating is given here.
- Caring?
- Good
- This question was not inspected in this report, so no rating is given here.
- Responsive?
- Good
- Care plans reflected people's needs and communication methods. People had more opportunities to use the local community and take part in activities, although some minor recording issues remained.
- Well-led?
- Good
- The manager and staff knew people well and had made improvements since the previous inspection. Most relatives and staff gave positive feedback, but some relatives reported poor communication.
The latest report, explained
What inspectors found, September 2023
Cambridge House is rated Good; inspectors found safe, person-centred care and clear improvements, but communication and some records needed attention.
Inspectors visited on 28 June and 31 July 2023. They met all five people living there, observed staff, spoke with staff, the manager, relatives and health professionals, and checked care records, medicines, risks and recruitment files.
The home was rated Good for Safe, Responsive and Well-led. People had enough trained staff, medicines were managed safely, care plans were personalised, and people had more opportunities to go out and take part in activities. New fire doors had also been fitted.
The previous rating was Requires Improvement. Inspectors found that earlier problems had been addressed and the home was no longer in breach of regulations. They noted some minor care-record issues and concerns from a few relatives about communication.
What inspectors praised
Improved safety
The home had replaced all its fire doors with safety-compliant doors. This addressed a problem found at the previous inspection.
“At this inspection we found the works had all been completed and new safety compliant fire doors had been fitted.” from the report
Safe medicines support
Staff gave medicines as prescribed and followed people's medicines records and care plans. The home also worked to avoid unnecessary over-medication.
“The service took steps to ensure people's anxiety or distress was not controlled by excessive or inappropriate use of medicines.” from the report
Personalised communication
Staff used communication methods suited to each person, including sign language and pictures, to support everyday choices.
“We saw that staff used these methods with people when making daily decisions such as choosing a drink or an activity.” from the report
More community activities
People had greater opportunities to go out and take part in leisure and social activities in the local community.
“People were supported to access the local community and participate in a range of activities such as going to the cinema, hydrotherapy and to a local splash pad.” from the report
Stable staff team
Many staff had worked at the home for five years or more. This meant they knew people's communication needs and health requirements well.
“Many of the team had worked with people at the service for 5 years, or more, and understood people's non-verbal communication needs and complex healthcare requirements.” from the report
What inspectors were concerned about
Minor record-keeping issues
minorInspectors found some minor issues in care and support plans. The manager was aware and was working to address difficulties with the care-planning system.
“We found some minor recording issues within people's care and support plan.” from the report
External area needed repair
needs fixingAn outside area needed fixing after work by a neighbouring property. The manager was arranging for this to be completed.
“We noted an external area of the service needed fixing following some work by a neighbouring property.” from the report
Communication with relatives
minorMost relatives said communication was good, but a few reported that calls and emails were not always answered or returned.
“Communication could be better…[staff] don't always answer the phone or respond to emails.” from the report
Questions to ask them, based on this report
- 01How are you checking that the minor care-plan recording issues have been fully corrected?
- 02What work remains to fix the external area, and when will it be completed?
- 03Who should relatives contact if calls or emails are not answered promptly?
- 04How will you make sure people continue to have regular community activities and outings?
- 05Can we see the previous comprehensive inspection report and discuss the improvements made since then?
This inspection covered Safe, Responsive and Well-led; Effective and Caring were not inspected in this report, and the report says ratings for questions not inspected were carried over from the last inspection. This explanation was written from the published report of 5 September 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.
The story over the years
Every inspection of Cambridge House
6 rated inspections over 8 years: the service has held its Good rating throughout.
- September 2023Goodcurrent ratingup from Requires improvementSafe: GoodEffective: GoodCaring: GoodResponsive: GoodWell-led: Good
- June 2022Requires improvementstayed Requires improvementSafe: Requires improvementResponsive: Requires improvementWell-led: Requires improvement
- October 2020Requires improvementstayed Requires improvementSafe: Requires improvementWell-led: Requires improvement
- April 2019Requires improvementstayed Requires improvementSafe: Requires improvementEffective: Requires improvementCaring: GoodResponsive: Requires improvementWell-led: Requires improvement
- January 2018Requires improvementdown from GoodSafe: Requires improvementEffective: Requires improvementCaring: Requires improvementResponsive: GoodWell-led: Requires improvement
- August 2015GoodSafe: GoodEffective: GoodCaring: GoodResponsive: GoodWell-led: Good
- October 2013
Report published without a new overall rating.
- June 2013
Report published without a new overall rating.
- September 2012
Report published without a new overall rating.
- April 2012
Report published without a new overall rating.
- June 2011
Report published without a new overall rating.
- April 2011
Report published without a new overall rating.
- December 2010
Registered with the Care Quality Commission on 1 December 2010.
Ratings and report dates from the Care Quality Commission. A service can also be visited without a new rating being published, so the timeline shows published inspections, not every contact the CQC has had with the service.
Another option
Or stay at home with a private carer
Many people who look at care homes end up staying at home with a carer who comes in for a few hours a day, or lives in. PrimeCarers introduces you to self-employed carers you choose yourself: interviewed, ID and DBS checked, from about £20 an hour or £1,120 a week live-in.
Nearby
Other care homes near Haverhill
Good
Cleves Place
Haverhill, CB9 · 1.6 km
NursingDementia
Not yet ratedcare home
Cleves Place
Haverhill, CB9 · 1.6 km
NursingDementia
Rated 3 years agocare home
The Swallows Residential Care Home
Haverhill, CB9 · 2.4 km
ResidentialDementia
Rated 22 months agocare home
Eastcotts Care Home with Nursing
Haverhill, CB9 · 4.1 km
NursingDementia
Rated 7 months agocare home
Yew Tree Cottage
Cambridge, CB21 · 7.5 km
Residential
Rated 6 years agocare home